IC-NRLF 


E7    D17 


I  LYE 


x' 
University  of  California. 


T 

«- 


I 


THE 


ART  AND   PRACTICE 


OF 


SILVER  PRINTING. 


BY 


E  P,  KOB1NSON  &  CAPT.  ABNEY,  R.E.,  F.R.S. 


THE   AMERICAN   EDITION, 


NEW   YORK: 
E.  &  H.  T.  ANTHONY  &  CO.,  NO.  591   BROADWAY. 

1881. 


PREFACE. 


SILVER  printing  has  been  often  doomed,  but  it  still  sur- 
vives. Other  processes  of  photographic  printing  have 
been  introduced,  nearly  all  of  them  having  their  individual 
merits,  especially  that  of  permanency,  but  all  lacking  in 
two  essential  qualities — ease  of  production  and  beauty 
of  result.  In  these  particulars  no  process  has  ever 
approached  the  one  to  the  working  of  which  this  little 
book  is  devoted.  The  one  defect  of  silver  printing  is  the 
possibility  of  its  results  fading ;  but  surely  it  is  better 
to  be  beautiful,  if  fading,  than  permanent  and  ugly.  It 
is  better  to  be  charmed  with  a  beautiful  thing  for  a  few 
years,  than  be  bored  by  an  ugly  one  for  ever.  But  is 
silver  printing  necessarily  a  fading  process  ?  We  have 
in  our  possession  a  large  number  of  silver  photographs 
produced  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  years  ago,  which  are. 
as  perfect  in  tone  and  colour  as  when  they  were  produced. 
Carefully  prepared,  and  properly  kept,  a  silver  print 
should  be  as  permanent  as  any  other.  That  silver  prints 
should  be  permanent  as  well  as  beautiful,  has  been  the 
object  of 

THE  AUT110KS. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

1.— Preliminary  Experiments        •• 

II. — Preparation  of  Albumenized  Paper    ..,         ...         ...  6 

III— The  Sensitizing  Bath 13 

IV.— How  to  Keep  the  Sensitizing  Bath  in  Order           ...  20 

V.— Silvering  the  Paper       26 

VI  —  Washed  Sensitive  Paper          ...         ...  31 

VII— Cutting  Paper 36 

VIII.— Printing-Frames            42 

JX. — Preparing  the  Landscape  Negative 45 

X.—  Printing  the  Landscape           49 

XI.— Preparing  the  Portrait  Negative        « 57 

XII.— Vignetting         ..  60 

XIII.— Printing  the  Portrait 69 

XIV—  Combination  Printing 74 

XV. -Toning 85 

XVI.— Fixing  the  Print            92 

XVII.— Washing  the  Print       95 

XVIII.— Printing  on  Plain  Paper          99 

XIX. -Printing  on  Resinized  Paper 100 

XX. — Printing  on  Gelatine-Chloride  Emulsion  Paper     ...  103 

XXL— Drying  the  Prints         ...  105 

XX II.— Mounting  Photographs            110 

XXI11.— Defects  in  Prints          115 

XXIV.— Encaustic  Paste 117 

XXV.— Enamelling  Prints        ...  119 

XXVI.— Cameo  Prints 121 

Appendix           ...        ...        123 


CHAPTEK  I. 

THEORY    OF    SILVER    PRINTING. 

PEKHAPS  it  may  be  wise,  first  of  all,  to  give  the  reader  some 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  the  subject  of  silver  printing  is 
to  be  treated,  before  entering  into  very  minute  details,  so  that 
it  may  be  followed  as  a  whole,  instead  of  being  studied  iu  frag- 
ments, a  course  which  is  sure  to  lead  to  failure,  from  a  want 
of  comprehending  what  may  have  been  skipped.  To  understand 
"the  why"  and  "the  wherefore"  of  every  detail  is  an  essen- 
tial in  most  occupations,  aud  it  is  wonderful  that  photo- 
graphers are  satisfied  \vith  the  results  of  rulc-of-thumb  for- 
mulae, instead  of  reasoning  out  their  utility.  In  the  following 
pages  most  of  the  theoretical  considerations  will  be  brought 
out  iu  such  a  manner  that  everyone  will  be  able  to  understand 
them,  provided  only  that  there  is  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the 
name  and  properties  of  the  chemicals  which  are  dealt  with. 

PRELIMINARY    EXI'EKIMENTS. 

Into  a  glass  beaker  put  a  couple  of  pinches  of  common  salt, 
which  must  be  dissolved  in  a  little  water. 

In  a  test-tube*  dissolve  about  an  equal  amount  of  silver  nitrate 


*  Su- h  things  as  test-tubes  should  he  fonnd  in  every  photographer's 
work  room  ;  I  hey  cost  little,  and  are  always  useful  for  working  solutions. 
The  sizes  recommended  a-e  f-inch.  i-inch.  and  1-mJi  diameter.  A  dozen  of 
each  will  not  be  out  of  the  wa;» 


2  SILVER    CHLORIDE. 

(Ag  NOJ,  and  add  it  to  the  salt  solution.  We  shall  find  that 
we  have  an  immediate  precipitate,  for  chloride  of  silver  will  be 
formed  by  what  is  called  double*4  decomposition,  and  there  will 
remain  in  solution  a  soluble  salt  known  as  sodium  nitrate.  When 
the  silver  chloride  has  settled  down,  decant  off  the  liquid,  and  add 
watd'to  it  once  or  twice,  draining  off  each  time.  Divide  the 
chloride  into  four  parts,  placing  each  part  on  a  strip  of  glass.  On 
two  of  them  pour  a  little  common  salt  solution,  and  on  the 
other  two  pour  a  little  solution  of  silver  nitrate ;  take  one 
of  each  pair,  and  place  it  in  a  dark  cupboard  (if  warmed,  the 
quicker  will  be  the  operation)  to  dry.  Take  the  other  two  moist 
portions  of  chloride  into  the  open  air,  and  expose  them  to  day- 
light, and  note  the  results.  It  will  be  seen  that  one  of  these  will 
darken  very  rapidly  to  a  violet  colour,  whilst  the  other  will  re- 
main much  lighter,  though  perceptibly  blackening.  After  a  time 
the  latter  will  appear  to  grow  deeper,  whilst  the  former  will 
become  a  deep  black.  The  one  that  blackens  most  rapidly  will 
be  found  to  be  that  one  on  which  the  silver  nitrate  was  poured. 
Divide  the  slightly  blackened  chloride  on  the  strip  of  glass  into 
two  portions,  and  over  one  pour  a  little  beer,  and  over  the  other  a 
weak  solution  of  potassium  nitrite,  and  again  note  the  difference. 
It  will  be  found  that  here  the  blackening  commences  anew,  but 
proceeds  much  more  rapidly  on  that  portion  over  which  the 
nitrite  was  poured.  Here  are  the  experiments.  What  do 
they  trach? 

Potassium  nitrite,  and  silver  nitrate,  are  both  inorganic  salts, 
and  they  both  have  an  affinity  for — that  is,  tend  to  combine 
with — any  of  the  halogens  (by  which  are  meant  such  bodies  as 
chlorine,  iodine,  bromine,  and  fluorine).  In  the  former  case  we 
have  silver  chloride  foimed  with  a  little  hypo-chlorous  acid ;  in 
the  latter  we  have  a  more  difficult  decomposition  :  the  potassium 


Sodium  Chloride      and     Silver  Nitrate     form    S-lver  Chloride     and     Sodium  Nitrate 
*NaCl  +         AgN03        =          AgCl          +          Na  NO, 


SILVEB    CHLORIDE.  O 

nitrite  is  decomposed  into  hydrochloric  acid  and  potassium 
nitrate.* 

"We  can  tell  that  chlorine  is  liberated  by  the  action  of  light  on 
silver  chloride,  since  if  we  prepare  some  as  above,  well  wash  it, 
and  expose  it  to  light  in  pure  water,  we  shall  find  that  the  latter 
contains  chlorine,  since  a  few  drops  of  silver  nitrate  poured  into 
it  after  exposure  give  a  white  precipitate. 

If  we  make  the  same  experiments  with  the  diied  portions  of 
silver  chloride  as  we  did  with  the  moist,  we  shall  obtain  the  same 
results,  with  the  exception  that  with  the  dried,  in  which  there 
is  excess  of  salt,  there  will  be  hardly  any  discolouration.  Tho 
experimentalist  should  also  note  that  if  the  darkened  chloride 
be  broken  up,  the  interior  retains  its  white  colour  in  all  its 
purity.  This  tells  us  that  the  discolouration  is  almost  confined  to 
the  surface,  hence  it  is  useless,  for  printing  purposes,  to  have  such 
a  mass  of  chloride  as  would  be  opaque,  since  all  but  a  very  thin 
film  would  be  unacted  upon. 

If  the  darkened  chloride  be  examined  closely,  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  colour  varies,  being  bluer  in  the  case  of  that  which  has 
silver  nitrate  in  contact  with  it  (either  moist  or  dry)  as  com- 
pared with  that  which  isdaikened  in  contact  with  the  potassium 
nitrite.  We  have  the  best  of  reasons  for  believing  that  the  blue 
colour  is  really  due  to  a  combination  between  the  sub-chlori<ie 
and  the  oxygen  contained  in  the  water  or  in  the  air.  The  true 
colour  of  the  sub-chloride  is  that  which  is  exposed  beneath  an 
oxygen  absorbent  such  as  the  nitrite. 

Practical  printers  are  aware  that  albumenized  paper  containing 
a  chloride  is  employed  for  producing  silver  prints,  and  the  pro- 


Chlorine  and  Pyta*sium  Nitrite  and  Water  give  Hydrochloric  Acid  and  Nitric  Adi 
•  2C1      +          K  N0a          +    H20    =  2HC1  +     K  NO, 

and 

Chlorine,    Silver  Nitrate,  and  Water    give    Silver  Chloride,  Hyrochli,roiw  flnd  Nifrw 
2C1  +  Ag  N03     +     Ha  0      -        Ag  Cl     4-     HC10      +    HNO, 


4  ALBUMINATE   OF   SILVEB. 

bability  is  that  the  albumen  must  exercise  some  kind  of  influ- 
ence on  the  resulting  picture.  Let  us  examine  this,  and  see  what 
effect  it  can  have.  Carefully  break  an  egg,  and  separate  the  yolk 
from  the  white,  pouring  the  latter  into  a  beaker.  Beat  up  the 
white  with  a  bundle  of  quill  pens,  allow  the  froth  to  subside,  and 
then  filter  it.  Pour  a  little  of  the  filtered  albumen  (the  white  of 
egg)  into  a  test-tube,  and  add  a  little  silver  nitrate  solution 
to  it,  and  expose  the  precipitate  which  falls  to  light.  It  will  be 
seen  that  it  darkens  rapidly,  assuming  a  foxy  red  colour.  Take 
a  couple  of  glass  plates  and  coat  them  with  plain  collodion,  wash 
Under  the  tap,  and  whilst  still  moist  flow  albumen  over  them 
iwo  or  three  times,  and  set  them  up  to  dry.  When  thoroughly 
dry,  plunge  them  for  a  few  seconds  into  a  weak  solution  of  silver 
nitrate  (30  grains  to  the  ounce  of  water  will  suffice),  wash  one 
under  the  tap,  and  then  allow  both  to  dry  again.  Take  both 
plates  out  into  the  .light,  and  note  the  results.  The  one  from  which 
the  silver  nitrate  has  not  been  washed  will  darken  very  rapidly, 
the  other  will  take  some  time  to  start ;  but  if  the  exposure  be 
sufficiently  prolonged,  it  will  gradually  assume  a  hue  equally  as 
dark  as  the  other. 

If  we  repeat  these  experiments  with  gelatine,  which  is  used 
as  a  sizing  in  some  papers,  we  shall  find  very  much  the  same 
nature  of  things  taking  place,  the  differences  being  so  slight, 
however,  as  not  to  require  detailed  notice. 

So  far,  then,  wa  have  considered  the  darkening  properties  of 
the  silver  compounds  which  are  to  be  used  by  the  printer,  but 
it  remains  to  be  seen  what  permanency  of  darkening  they  possess. 
If  we  treat  the  darkened  silver  chloride  solution  exposed  with 
the  silver  nitrate  or  the  potassium  nitrite  to  a  solution  of  hypo- 
sulphite of  soda  or  ammonia,  both  of  which  are  solvents  of  the 
white  chloride,  we  shall  find  that  a  residue  of  metallic  silver  is 
left  behind.  If  we  treat  the  darkened  albuminate  of  silver  with 
the  same  agents,  we  shall  find  that  very  little  change  is  effected 
by  them. 


JLLBUMINATE    OF    8TLYER. 


5 


From  this  we  may  gather  that  the  action  of  light  on  them  is  of  a 
totally  different  nature.*  This  is  also  most  marked  if  we  treat  the 
two  with  hydrosulpl:  uric  acid  solution  (sulphuretted  hydrogen f). 
It  will  be  found  that  the  colour  of  the  darkened  silver  chloride 
becomes  more  intense,  while  the  other  is  bleached,  or,  rather, 
becomes  of  a  yellow  tint.  This  last  effect  has  an  important 
bearing  on  the  permanency  of  silver  prints,  as  will  be  more  fully 
explained  when  considering  the  subject  of  fixing  the  print. 


With  the  former  we  have  this  action- 
Silver  Chloride    gives    Silver  Sub-chloride    and 

Ag2  Cla  =  Ag,  Cl  + 


Liberated  Chloride. 


With  the  latter  the  silver  in  combination  with  the  organic  matter,  which  is  in 
a  state  of  oxide,  is  probably  reduced  to  the  state  of  tmb-oxide. 

t  Sulphuretted  hydrogen  m?y  b«  prepared  by  pouring  dilute  sulphuric 
acid  on  ferric  sulphide.  The  chloride  or  the  silver  compound,  when 
damped,  may  be  held  over  it,  taking  care  that  no  liquid  is  spirted  up  on 
to  it 


UJriYBBSXTYB 


CHAPTEK  II, 


PREPARATION   OF  ALBUMENIZED  PAPER. 

IK  printing  on  albuinenized  paper  we  must  divide  the  operations, 
and  give  a  detailed  account  of  each.  In  case  the  reader  may 
desire  to  prepare  his  own  paper,  we  give  the  following  formula 
and  directions. 

To  prepare  the  albumen,  procure  a  sufficient  number  of  eggs, 
remembering  that  the  white  of  a  large  egg  will  be  about  a  fluid 
ounce  ;  have  a  cup  to  collect  the  yolks,  and  a  four-ounce  measure 
at  hand.  Give  the  centre  of  the  egg  a  smart  blow  against  the  top 
of  the  cup.  The  shell  can  now  be  readily  pulled  in  two,  the 
yolk  remaining  unbroken  with  pait  of  the  albumen  in  one  half, 
and  the  rest  of  the  albumen  in  the  other  half  of  the  shell.  Take 
the  halves,  one  in  each  hand,  and  pour  the  albumen  from  one  to 
the  other,  holding  them  over  the  small  measure.  As  the  operation 
continues,  the  yolk  will  gradually  separate,  the  white  fulling  into 
the  vessel  below.  If  conducted  with  care,  the  whole  of  the  latter 
will  be  collected  without  breaking  the  yolk.  If  the  yolk  break, 
some  will  be  sure  to  find  its  way  into  the  measure  along  with 
the  \\hite,  and  this,  together  with  the  white  speck  known  as  the 
tread,  must  be  rigorously  taken  out  by  means  of  a  spoon.  The 
uncontaminated  white  is  then  poured  into  a  large  jar.  If  the 
operator  carefully  collect  the  white  of  each  egg  into  the  four* 


ALBUM ENIZINS    PAPER.  7 

ounce  measure  first,  he  will  find  his  labour  much  diminished, 
as  it  is  awkward  to  got  out  the  small  pieces  of  yolk  from  a 
large  quantity  of  albumen.  The  eggs  are  thus  broken,  and 
the  white  collected  till  there  is  a  sufficient  quantity  for  the 
purpose  in  hand.  Suppose  we  are  going  to  make  up  bounces 
of  solution,  then  about  18  ounces  of  white  of  egg  must  be  found 
in  the  j  ir.  One  point  to  settle  is  the  amount  of  salt  to  be  used 
to  eacli  ounce  of  albumen.  It  must  be  recollected  that  a-  medium 
quantity  is  the  best  for  medium  negatives  ;  anything  between 
2u  and  40  grains  per  ounce  may  be  used.  We  prefer  ourselves 
about  25.  Supposing  this  quantity  to  be  used,  we  proceed  to 
dissolve  500  grains  of  chloride  of  ammonium  in  2  ounces  of 
water.  and  add  it  to  the  albumen.  It  has  been  proved  that  as 
regards  colour  of  the  picture,  it  does  not  matter  what  chloride 
is  used.  To  prevent  crystallization,  it  is  better  to  use  ammo- 
nium, which  contains  a  great  r  amount  of  chlorine  than  do  sodium 
or  potassium  chlorides.  It  must  now  be  beaten  up  till  it  is  in 
a  froth.  This  breaks  up  the  fibrous  matter,  and  on  subsidence  the 
liquid  will  be  found  to  be  limpid.  The  most  convenient  imple- 
ment with  which  to  beat  up  the  albumen  is  the  American  egg- 
beater.  Three  or  four  minutes'  work  is  quite  sufficient  to  make 
the  whole  into  a  froth.  An  ordinal  y.  culinary  whisk,  such  as  is 
used  in  the  kitchen,  may  also  be  put  into  requisition,  or,  in  default 
of  that,  a  bundle  of  quill  pens.  A  lesson  in  producing:  a  froth 
can  be  learnt  from  the  cook  of  the  establishment.  When  the 
salt  d  albumen  has  settled  it  must  be  filtered,  which,  perhaps,  is 
bestefb  cted  through  a  sponge,  though  glass-wool  is  a  capital  sub- 
stitute. In  either  case  a  small,  loosely-fitting  ping  is  placed  in 
the  neck  of  an  ordinary  funnel,  and,  after  rinsing  with  cold  water, 
'the  albumen  is  poured  in,  and  allowed  to  filter  through  slowly.  It 
is  advisable  to  avoid  bubbles  as  f  tr  as  possible,  and  the  accom- 
panying arrangement  will  be  found  to  avoid  their  formation.  The 
funnel  is  placed  in  the  position  shown  (fig.  1)  ;  the  capillary 
attraction  between  it  and  the  glass  will  cause  the  drops  to  trickle 


ALBUM  EITIZEI)    PAFEB. 


down  the  side,  and  collect,  without  bubbles,  at  the  bottom.     This 
little  contrivance  will  be  found  of  use  in  other  operations  besides 


Fig.  1. 

that  of  silver  printing,  and  should  be  made  a  note  of.  The  albu- 
men may  also  be  filtered  through  one,  two,  or  three  thicknesses  of 
muslin,  according  to  its  fineness,  tied  over  the  mouth  ot  a  bottle  or 


Fig.  2. 

beaker  of  which  the  bottom  has  been  removed.  The  alburnen  is 
.placed  in  a  vessel  slightly  larger  than  the  filter,  which  is  allowed 
.to  sink  gradually.  When  full  it  is  withdrawn,  and  the  fluid 
poured  into  the  dish.  By  this  plan  upward  filtration  is  estab- 
lished. The  fluid  may  be  poured  into  the  filter  itself,  and  used 
in  the  ordinary  manner.* 

On  a  larger  scale,  white  of  eggs  in  a  fresh  condition  cnn  be 
obtained  from  egg  merchants  who  utilize  the  yolks  by  soiling 
them  to  the  grocers*  and  confectioners.  Albumen  can  be 


*  Those  who  prepare  collndio-albutnen  plates  will  find  the  upward  filtra- 
tion arrange.nent  of  immense  value,  as  bubbles  are  unknown  by  it. 


ALBTTMENIZED   PAPEB.,  9 

obtained  by  the  gallon  in  this  condition,  according  to  the  price 
of  eggs.  It  will  be  evident  that  there  is  considerable  economy 
in  taking  the  whites  wholesale.  Asa  rule,  about  three  gallons 
of  albumen  will  coat  two  reams  of  albumenized  paper.  Mr. 
England  (to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  so  many  of  our  remarks 
on  albumenizing  paper)  procures  about  the  latter  quantity  at  a 
time,  and  beats  it  up  mechanically  in  a  large  vat  holding  some 
fifty  gallons,  in  order  to  allow  space  for  the  froth.  He  allows 
the  albumen  to  rest  four  days  before  employing  it,  and  filters  it 
through  three  thicknesses  of  flannel. 

The  quality  of  paper  to  be  used  varies  considerably  with  the 
custom  of  the  printer.  Thus,  in  some  countries!  w«>  find  a  much 
thinner  paper  used  than  in  England.  The  great  'lesideratum  is 
that  it  should  be  perfectly  opaque  to  transmitted  \\ght.  A  good 
test  of  this  is  to  make  a  couple  of  black  ink  marks  on  a  piece  of 
white  paper,  and  then  press  down  firmly  the  paper  it  is  proposed 
to  employ  over  this.  If  the  black  ink  marks  are  indistinguish- 
able, the  paper  will  do  as  regards  this  quality,  as  the  light  re- 
flected from  the  surface  which  gives  the  impression  of  whiteness 
to  the  eye  is  much  stronger  than  the  light  which  penetrates 
through  it,  and  is  absorbed  by  the  black  lines.  As  to  quality,  it 
is  best  to  trust  to  the  manufacturer,  those  known  as  Saxe  and 
Rives  papers  answering  better  than  any  other  that  we  know  of. 
The  Rives  is,  when  moist,  a  paper  which  is  more  easily  torn  than 
the  Saxe,  and,  consequently,  we  recommend  that  the  former  be 
employed  for  small  work,  such  as  portraits,  and  the  latter  for 
large  landscape  prints. 

In  regard  to  the  sizes  to  be  albumenized,  it  must  be  left  to  the 
operator  to  say  what  will  be  the  most  useful  to  him.  It  is  rarely 
advisable  to  albumenize  less  than  a  half  sheet  of  paper,  the  whole 
size  of  which  is  about  22  by  18  inches ;  1 1  by  18  ie  not  an  incon- 
venient size  to  manipulate.  At  any  rate,  a  dish  larger  each  way 
by  a  couple  of  inches  than  the  paper  must  be  procured,  and  put 
on  a  level  table.  The  temperature  of  the  room  should  be  at 


10  BLOATING   THE   PAPEB. 

least  90°,  in  fact,  the  hotter  it  is  the  more  glossy  will  be  the 
resulting  paper.  The  solution,  free  from  bubbles,  is  ponred  in, 
and  should  be  of  a  depth  of  at  least  \  an  inch.  Suppose  the 
smaller  size  to  be  coated,  before  commencing,  the  paper  is  taken 
by  the  two  opposite  corners,  the  hands  brought  together,  and 


J-iff.  3. 

the  convex  side  brought  on  to  the  surface  of  the  fluid  ;  the  hands 
are  then  separated,  and  the  paper  will  gradually  float  on  the 
surface.  One  corner  should  be  gradually  raised  to  see  that  all 
air-bubbles  are  absent.  If  there  be  any,  they  should  be  broken 
with  the  point  of  a  glass  rod,  and  the  paper  again  lowered. 
Bubbles  can  usually  be  seen  through  the  paper,  and,  instead  of 
raising  it,  a  few  gentle  taps  with  the  finger  over  the  spot  will 
generally  move  the  bubble  to  the  edge  of  the  paper.  In  prac- 
tice, some  have  found  it  well  to  moisten  the  surface  of  the  paper 
with  a  damp  sponge,  and  when  quite  surface  dry  to  album enize 
it.  This  should,  however,  be  unnecessary.  The  sheet  should 
remain  on  the  albumen  a  little  over  a  minute,  when  it  could  be 
gently  raised  by  one  corner  and  allowed  to  drain  over  a  basin ;  it 
is  then  caught  by  a  couple  of  American  clips  and  hung  up  to  dry.* 
Supposing  a  whole  sheet  is  to  be  coated,  it  will  be  found  more 
convenient  to  take  the  sheet  by  the  corners  of  one  end,  one  in  each 
hand,  and  to  lower  the  surface  near  the  end  of  the  dish,  and 
gradually  draw  the  paper  over  the  side  of  the  dish  till  the  whole 
Biiifactf  is  flat.  Bubbles  can  be  got  rid  of  as  shown  above. 

*  If  babbles  are  seen,  they  must  be  broken,  and  the  sheet  floatei  again  for 
another  minute. 


PA1*EB.  II 

Two  Jorge  dishes  arc  usually  employed,  and  by  the  time  the 
second  sheet  is  floated  in  the  second  dish,  the  first  sheet  of  paper 
is  ready  for  removal  from  the  first  dish.  The  sheets,  when 
slowly  removed  from  the  bath,  are  allowed  to  drain  a  few 
seconds,  and  then  thrown  over  wooden  rods  of  some  two  inches 
in  diameter,  which  are  removed  to  a  rack,  and  placed  near  a 
trough  to  collect  the  drainings.*  When  drained  sufficiently  the 
rods  are  removed  to  other  racks,  and  the  paper  allowed  to  dry 
spontaneously. 

It  is  the  practice  of  some  albumenized  paper  manufacturers  to 
hang  the  sheets  over  aline,  uncoatedside  next  the  line;  but  this 
is  a  mistake,  as  it  will  nearly  always  be  found,  on  sensitising  the 
paper  and  exposing  it,  that  a  mark  is  left  across  the  paper  corre- 
sponding to  the  part  where  the  string  touched  the  back  of  the 
paper. 

In  practice  we  have  found  that  each  sheet  of  paper  takes  up 
about  £oz.  of  solution,  and,  of  course,  its  equivalmt  quantity 
of  salt.  The  principal  difficulty  in  albumenizing  paper  is  the 
occurrence  of  lines  on  the  paper  in  the  direction  in  which 
it  was  placed  on  the  surface  of  the  albumen.  Any  arrest  of 
motion  in  floating  the  paper  will  cause  them,  but  more  usually  it 
is  due  to  imperfect  beating  up  of  the  solution.  Some  papers  are 
not  readily  coated  with  albumen,  in  which  case  the  remedy  given 
above  may  prove  effectual ;  or  a  little  solution  of  oxgall  may  be 
equally  well  applied.  A  want  of  gloss  in  the  dried  albumen  may 
be  due  to  too  long  a  floating  on  the  fluid,  or  to  floating  and 
drying  the  paper  in  too  low  a  temperature.  The  explanation  of 
the  first  cause  is  that  albumen,  when  fresh,  has  an  alkaline  re- 
action, due  to  the  presence  of  a  small  quantity  of  soda,  which  may 
be  said  to  be  its  base,  and  any  alkali  will  dissolve  the  gelatinous 
sizing  of  a  paper.  When  the  sizing  is  dissolved,  instead  of  re- 

*  The  draioings  are  added  to  the  next  batch  of  albumen  which  it 
prepared. 


12  ALBT7MENIZTNG   PAPER. 

maining  on  the  surface,  the  albumen  sinks  into  the  paper,  and 
thereby  the  gloss  is  lost. 

When  albumen  is  stale  it  no  longer  possesses  this  alkaline 
reaction,  but  has  an  acid  reaction  quite  visible  on  the  application 
of  blue  litmus  paper  to  it ;  the  blue  colour  disappears  and  i8 
replaced  by  a  red  tint.  When  in  the  alkaline  state,  the  paper 
is  much  more  difficult  to  coat,  but  an  acid  condition  means  the 
production  of  inferior  tones. 

Rolling  the  Paper. — The  paper,  when  dried,  is  often  rolled  with 
a  heavy  pressure  to  improve  the  gloss ;  a  copper-plate  press  is 
found  to  answer  admirably,  placing  the  albumenized  side  next 
the  bed .  This  rolling  should  not  be  necessary  if  attention  be  paid 
to  the  temperature  of  the  preparation  room.  The  higher  the 
temperature  the  finer  will  be  the  gloss,  as  we  have  already  said. 


CHAPTEE  HI. 


THE   SENSITIZING    BATH    FOR   AI-BUMENIZED 
PAPER. 

To  render  albumenized  paper  sensitive  to  light  it  has  to  be 
treated  with  a  solution  of  silver  nitrate,  and  the  most  convenient 
method  of  applying  it  is  to  float  it  on  a  dish  containing  the  silver 
salt  in  solution.  The  first  point  to  consider  is  the  strength  of  the 
solution.  If  we  float  albumenized  paper  (face  downwards)  on  a 
solution  of  10  grains  of  silver  nitrate  to  the  ounce  of  water,  we 
shall  find,  what  at  first  sight  may  seem  to  be  remarkable,  that 
the  albumen  will  be  dissolved  away  from  the  paper,  and  that 
there  will  be  a  precipitate  left  in  the  silver  solution.  Why  is 
this? 

It  must  be  remembered  that  albumen  is  soluble  in  water :  it 
is  coagulated  or  insoluble  in  water  when  combined  with  silver 
nitrate.  The  fact  is  that  the  quantity  of  silver  nitrate  in  the 
solution  we  have  been  experimenting  with  is  too  small.  The 
water  dissolves  the  albumen  first,  and  then  the  silver  has  time  to 
act  upon  it  to  form  the  insoluble  alburninate.  If  we  soak  paper 
in  common  salt,  and  treat  it  in  the  same  way  with  the  same 
strength  of  solution,  we  shall  find  that  this  is  not  the  case  :  the 
silver  chloride  will  remain  on  the  paper.  From  this  we  learn, 
two  facts. 

1st.  That  the  silver  solution  has  a  greater  affinity  for  the 


14  8TBENGTH  OP  SENSITIZING   BATH. 

chloride  than  for  the  albuminate,  and  that  in  an  equal  mixture 
of  the  two  more  chloride  would  be  formed  than  albuminate; 
in  other  words,  that  the  antttibnium>chloride  would  be  totally  con- 
verted into  silver  chloride  long  before  the  silver  albuminate  was 
formed. 

2nd.  That  a  certain  strength  of  silver  nitrate  is  necessary 
to  prevent  the  albumen  dissolving  from  off  the  paper. 

This  last  fact  has  fixed  the  lowest  strength  of  any  sensitizing 
solution  to  be  thirty  grains  to  the  ounce,  and  even  if  this  be 
taken  as  a  limit,  it  is  necessary  that  the  water  should  be 
rendered  less  active  by  holding  some  other  soluble  matter  in 
its  embraces.  This  is  usually  effected  by  adding  some  other 
neutral  and  inactive  nitrates.  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any 
theoretical  limit  to  amount  of  silver  nitrate  in  solution,  but 
practically  it  rarely  contains  more  than  80  grains  to  the  ounce, 
though  occasionally  we  have  heard  of  it  being  used  of  a  strength 
of  100  grains  to  the  ounce. 

The  important  point  now  presents  itself.  How  (ire  we  to  fix 
the  strength  of  the  bath  ?  What  principles  must  we  follow  ? 

To  answer  these  questions  we  extract  a  passage  from  another 
work  of  this  series.* 

"  If  a  paper  be  coated  with  albumen  (say)  in  which  has  been 
dissolved  a  certain  quantity  of  a  soluble  chit-ride,  and  floated  on  a 
silver  solution,  both  chloride  and  albuminate  of  silver  are  formed. 
It  depends,  however,  on  the  strength  of  the  solution  as  to  what 
proportions  of  each  are  present,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  organic 
compound  is  much  slower  in  formation  than  the  chloride,  and  has 
less  affinity  for  the  silver.  If  the  silver  solution  be  not  sufficiently 
strong,  the  chloride  may  rob  that  portion  of  it  with  which  it  is  in 
contact  of  all  the  silver  before  any  (or,  at  all  events,  sufficient) 
albuminate  has  been  formed,  the  molecule  being  composed  almost 
entirely  of  silver  chloride.  The  stronger  the  silver  solution  the 

*  "  Instruction  in  Photography,"  4th  edition,  page  121* 


STRENGTH   OP   SENSITIZING  BATH.  15 

more  '  organ  ate  *  will  it  contain  ;  whil  t  if  it  be  very  weak,  very 
little  will  be  present.  Hence  it  is  with  albumcnized  paper  which 
is  weakly  salted  with  a  silver  chloride  a  weak  sensitizing  bath 
may  be  used,  whilst  if  it  be  rich  in  the  chloride  it  must  be  of 
proportionate  strength." 

It  will  now  be  seen  that  the  proportion  of  chloride  to  albumen 
has  to  settle  the  point.  We  next  have  to  consider  the  time 
during  which  the  silver  should  be  in  contact  with  the  paper  when 
the  floating  is  commenced.  Let  us  take  the  case  of  a  strong 
silver  solution,  and  consider  the  action  that  will  follow. 
Immediately  the  paper  is  placed  in  contact  with  the  solution, 
silver  chloride  is  formed,  and  the  amount  of  the  silver  nitrate  in 
the  layer  of  fluid  in  immediate  contact  with  the  surface  being 
scarcely  diminished  by  the  formation  of  silver  chloride,  the 
albuminate  is  formed  almost  simultaneously,  forming  a  aim  which 
is  to  a  great  extent  impermeable  to  the  liquid.  But  even  before 
this  layer  is  coagulated,  the  next  layer  of  chloride  will  have 
been  formed,  so  that  we  may  say  we  have  one  layer  of 
albuminate  and  chloride  of  silver,  and  one  layer  of  chloride 
of  silver  alone. 

The  further  penetration  of  the  silver  solution  will  be  very  slow; 
hence,  for  fully  saturating  both  the  albumen  and  the  salt  with 
silver,  the"  time  of  flotation  must  be  prolonged.  For  some  pur- 
poses, however,  this  is  not  necessary,  as  will  be  seen  presently. 

Next  let  us  trace  the  action  of  a  weak  solution,  not  weak 
enough  to  disFolve  the  albumen  off  the  paper,  but  of  the 
minimum  strength.  The  solution,  as  before,  would  immediately 
form  the  silver  chloride,  but  before  the  albumen  had  coagulated 
at  the  surface,  the  solution  would  penetrate  to  the  interior  of  the 
film,  and  then  the  formation  of  the  albuminate  would  proceed 
nearly  equally  throughout  the  whole  of  the  interior.  Evidently, 
then,  in  this  case,  the  contact  of  the  silver  solution  would  be  less 
prolonged  than  in  the  former  case.  If  the  floating  be  prolonged 
the  silver  solution  in  the  interior  will  become  weakened,  and  par- 


16  STRENGTH    OF   SENSITIZING    BATH. 

tially  dissolve  the  albumen  and  be  carried  by  the  water  into 
the  interior  of  the  paper ;  it  will  also  partially  dissolve  off  the 
surface,  and  a  negative  printed  on  such  a  paper  would  have  all 
the  appearance  of  being  dead  in  lustre,  and  existing  in  the  paper 
itself  instead  of  on  the  surface. 
We  may  thus  summarize  : — 

1.  A  paper  floated  on  a  strong  solution   may  require   long 
floating. 

2.  A  paper  floated  on  a  weak  solution  requires  short  floating. 

3.  And  the   strength  of  the  solution   may  he   between   the 
30  grains  and  80  grains  to  the  ounce  of  silver  according  to  the 
amount  of  soluble  chloride  dissolved  in  the  albumen  on  the  paper 
when  the  negative  is  really  good  as  regards  opacity  and  delicacy. 

The  knowledge  of  the  amount  of  chloride  in  the  paper 
supplied  by  dealers  has  to  be  arrived  at  somehow,  and  the 
following  method  will  answer.  Cut  up  a  quarter  sheet  of  the 
paper  into  small  pieces,  and  place  them  in  a  couple  of 
ounces  of  methylated  spirit.  This  will  dissolve  out  most  of  the 
chloride,  and  should  be  decanted  off.  Another  two  ounces  of 
spirit  should  be  added  to  the  paper,  and,  after  thoroughly  soaking, 
should  be  decanted  off,  and  added  to  the  other  spirit.  The 
spirit  containing  the  chloride  may  then  be  placed  in  a  glass 
vessel  standing  in  hot  water,  when  it  will  evaporate  and  leave 
the  chloride  behind.  It  may  be  weighed  ;  but  since  it  is  better 
to  know  how  much  silver  chloride  (AgCl)  would  be  formed,  the 
residue  should  be  dissolved  in  a  few  drops  of  water,  and  a  little 
silver  nitrate  added.  The  silver  chloride  will  be  precipitated, 
and  should  be  carefully  washed  with  water,  and  then  be  filtered, 
the  paper  being  opened  out  and  dried  before  the  fire  on  filter 
paper.  The  chloride  is  then  detached  and  weighed ;  3^  grains 
of  silver  chloride  would  show  that  a  weak  bath  should  be  used, 
whilst  10  grains  would  show  that  a  strong  bath  wad  required. 

With  most  brands  of  albumenized  paper  directions  are  issued 
as  to  the  best  strength  of  silver  nitrate  solution  for  sensit'zing, 


PBFPAJIATION   OF   SENSITIZING   BATH.  if 

and  a  fair  estimate  of  the  chloride  present  can  be  gained  from 
such  directions. 

A  weak  solution  loses  much  of  its  strength  by  each  sheet  of 
paper  floated,  much  more  proportionally,  in  fact,  than  a  strong 
solution,  since  the  same  amount  of  fluid  is  absorbed  by  the  paper 
in  each  case,  whilst  the  amount  of  silver  abstracted  from  the  wJioh 
is  also  equal,  which  reduces  the  strength  per  ounce  more  with 
the  former  than  with  the  latter.  A  weak  sensitizing  solution, 
therefore,  requires  much  more  attention  than  a  strong  one :  crystals 
of  silver  nitrate  must  be  constantly  added  to  the  former.  In 
practice  and  for  general  work,  then,  we  recommend  a  moderately 
strong  bath,  the  method  of  making  up  of  which  we  shall  describe. 

To  make  up  2  pints  of  solution  with  a  strength  of  50  grains 
to  the  ounce,  we  shall  require  2,000  grains  of  silver  nitrate. 
This  is  carefully  weighed  out  in  the  scales,  a  piece  of  filter 
paper  'being  placed,  in  each  pan.  By  adopting  this  plan  freedom 
from  all  impurities  that  may  cling  to  the  pans  will  be  avoided, 
and  the  silver  nitrate  will  be  perfectly  pure.  Place  the  silver 
salt  in  a  large  clean  bottle,  and  add  half-a-pint  of  water  to  it, 
and  shake  it  to  dissolve  it.  The  best  water  for  the  purpose  is 
distilled  water ;  but  filtered  rain,  pure  spring,  or  river  water 
answers  well.  If  the  water  contain  any  chlorides,  it  will  be 
shown  by  amilkiness  due  to  a  formation  of  silver  chloride.  This 
must  be  filtered  out  when  the  remaining  pint  and  a-half  of  water 
is  added.  The  solution  is  now  ready  for  use,  and,  being  of  the 
simplest  character,  is  not  to  be  excelled,  though  the  addition  of 
some  soluble  salts  may  be  advantageous,  particularly  in  dry 
climates  or  in  very  dry  weather.  Such  salts  are  found  in 
sodium  nitrate,  or  ammonium  nitrate,  as  much  as  equal  weights 
of  either  of  these  substances  being  added.  Thus  our  formula 
would  stand  as  follows  were  these  additions  made :  — 

Original  Solution. 
1. —  Silver  nitrate  ...         ...          ...         ...     50  grains 

Water  .. , 1  ounce 

0 


18 


THE    SENSITIZING   BATH. 


Modified  Solution. 

2. — Silver  nitrate          ...         ...         ...  50  grains 

Ammonium  nitrate  or  sodium  nitrate  50       ,, 
Water          ...         ...         ...         ...       1  ounce 

The  reason  of  the  addition  of  the  ammonium  or  sodium  nitrate 
is  that  prints  are  hetter  obtained  on  paper  which  is  not  absolutely 
free  from  water.  When  very  dry,  the  liberated  chlorine  (see 
page  32)  is  apt  to  attack  the  albuminate,  whereas  it  is  deprived 
of  much  of  its  activity  when  it  is  able  to  be  absorbed  by  water, 
which,  in  the  presence  of  light,  is  decomposed  into  hydrochloric 
acid  and  oxygen.* 

Hydrochloric  acid  can  attack  the  silver  nitrate  present  in  the 
pores  of  the  paper,  and  produce  fresh  silver  chloride.  If  the 
paper  were  quite  dry,  the  liberated  chlorine  would  scarcely  be 
able  to  attack  even  the  silver.  Moisture,  though  very  little,  is 
desirable.  In  the  excessively  dry  climate  of  India,  &c.,  in  the 
summer,  one  or  other  of  these  deliquescent  salts  should  be  in- 
variably present  for  the  purpose  indicated,  unless  fuming  be 
resorted  to. 

The  sensitizing  bath  should  also  never  be  allowed  to  be  acid 
with  nitric  acid,  since  the  resulting  prints  would  invariably  be 
poor. 

The  best  way  of  securing  this  neutral  state  is  by  keeping  a 
little  carbonate  of  silver  at  the  bottom  of  the  bottle  in  which 
the  solution  is  kept.  A  few  drops  of  a  solution  of  sodium 
carbonate  added  to  the  bottle  over-night  will  secure  this.  The 
reason  why  nitric  acid  is  to  be  avoided  is  shown  by  placing  a 
print  in  dilute  nitric  acid.  It  is  well  known  that  darkened 
silver  chloride  is  unaffected  by  it ;  but  the  print  will  be  found 
to  chuuge  colour,  and  to  become  duller  and  redder  than  if  washed 


Chlorine         and  Water         give    Hydrochloric  acid    and        Oxygen. 

01  +  H.O  =  HC1  +  0 


THE    SENSITIZING    BATS.  19 

in  water  alone.  The  nitric  acid  evidently  attacks  the  albumen. 
Nitric  acid  decomposes  the  caibcnate  of  silver  (which,  be  it  re- 
men  ibe  ed,  is  an  insoluble  body),  forming  silver  nitrate,  and 
liberating  carbonic  acid.* 

Alum  in  the  printing  bath  has  also  been  recommended  for 
preventing  the  bath  from  discolouring,  and  it  is  effective  in  that 
it  hardens  the  suiface  of  the  albumen  ;  but  the  ordinary  explana- 
tion of  its  effect  is  defective.  If  a  solution  of  common  alum  be 
added  to  the  silver  nitrate  we  get  silver  sulphate  (which  is  best 
out  of  the  bath,  and  it  is  slightly  soluble  in  the  solution),  and 
aluminium.  nitrate  is  formed.  f 

The  same  effect  would  be  produced  if  aluminium  nitrate  we? 
added  to  the  bath  solution.  We,  however,  give  a  means  of 
adding  it  as  recommended  by  some  writers.  When  filterirg  the 
solution,  put  a  small  lump  of  alum  in  the  filter  paper,  and  \  our 
the  solution  over  it,  or  add  one  grain  of  alum  to  every  ounce  of 
solution,  and  then  filter. 


Nitric  Acid  and  Silver  Carbonate  give  Silver  Nifoate  and  Carbonic  Acid  and  Water. 

+        Ag,c67       -       2AGN07  +         'CO?      +    H/) 

S-lvcr      mn*          Aluminium  Silver          .       Aluminium 

Nitrate     lnd       BulihatMAlum)      *"«      Sulphate    and         Nitn?enT 

^  =  S(Ag,  BQJ 


CHAPTER  IV. 


HOW  TO  KEEP  THE  SENSITIZING  BATH  IN  ORDER. 

EXPEBIENCE  tells  us,  however  strong  we  may  make  the  bath 
solution  to  coagulate  the  albumen  on  the  paper,  that  a  certain 
amount  of  organic  matter  will  always  be  carried  into  it.  At  first 
this  is  not  apparent,  since  it  remains  colourless  in  the  solution ; 
but  after  a  time,  after  floating  a  few  sheets  of  paper,  the  organic 
silver  compound  gradually  decomposes,  and  the  solution  be- 
comes of  a  brown  or  red  tint,  and  if  paper  were  floated  on  it  in 
this  condition  there  would  be  a  dark  surface  and  uneven  sensi- 
tizing. It  is,  therefore,  necessary  to  indicate  the  various  means 
that  may  be  employed  to  get  rid  of  this  impurity.  The  earliest, 
if  not  one  of  the  best,  is  by  the  addition  of  white  China  clay, 
which  is  known  in  commerce  as  kaolin.  A  teaspoon ful  is  placed 
in  the  bottle  containing  the  solution,  and  well  shaken  up  ;  the 
organic  matter  adheres  to  it,  and  precipitates  to  the  bottom,  and 
the  liquid  can  be  filtered  through  filter-paper  or  washed  cotton- 
wool, when  it  will  be  found  decolourized.  Another  mode  of 
getting  the  liquid  out  of  the  bottle  is  to  syphon  it  off  by  any 
syphon  arrangement,  and  this  prevents  a  waste  in  the  solution 
from  the  absorption  of  the  fiJ  tering  medium.  The  accompanying 
arrangement  (fig.  4)  will  bei  ound  useful  for  the  purpose,  and  can 


PURIFYING    THE     SOLUTION. 


21 


be  applied  to  other  solutions  where  decantation  is  necessary.  A 
is  a  wide-mouthed  bottle  holding  the  solution.  B  is  a  cork  fitting 
the  mouth,  in  which  two  holes  have  been  bored  to  fit  the  two 
tubes,  D  and  C,  which  are  bent  to  the  form  shown.  When  the 


.  4. 


kaolin  has  subsided  to  the  bottom,  air  is  forced  by  the  mouth  into 
the  bottle  through  C,  the  liquid  rises  over  the  bend  of  the  tube 
D,  and  syphons  off  to  the  level  of  the  bottom  of  the  tube  inserted 
into  the  liquid,  provided  the  end  of  D,  outside  the  bottle,  conies 
below  it. 

To  bend  a  tube,  a  common  gas  flame  is  superior  to  a  Bunsen 
burner.  The  tube  is  placed  in  the  bright  part  of  the  flame  in 
the  position  shown  ;  by  this  means  a  good  length  of  it  gets  heated, 


Fig.  5< 

and  a  gentle  bend  is  made  without  choking  the  bore,  which 
would  be  the  case  were  a  point  of  a  flame  used. 

Another  method  of  purifying  the  solution  is  by  adding  a  few 
drops  of  hydrochloric  (muriatic)  acid  to  it.  Chloride  of  silver  is 
formed,  and  when  well  shaken  up,  carries  down  with  it  most  of 
the  organic  matter,  but  leaves  the  bath  acid  from  the  formation 


22  RUBIFYING   THE   SOLUTION. 

of  nitric  acid.*  This  must  be  neutralized  unless  a  little  silvef 
carbonate  is  left  9t  tbe  bottom  of  the  bottle  as  described  at 
page  2u.  A  camphor  solution  may  also  be  added  for  the  same 
purpose.  Make  a  saturated  solution  of  camphor  in  spirits  of  wine, 
and  add  a  couple  of  drachnus  to  the  solution,  and  shake  well  up. 
The  camphor  will  collect  the  albumen,  and  it  can  be  filtered  out. 
In  case  the  first  dose  does  not  decolourize  it,  another  one  must 
be  added. 

Another  plan  is  to  add  pota-sium  permanganate  (permangan- 
ate of  potash)  to  it,  till  such  time  as  the  solution  takes  a  faint 
permanent  rose  tint.  The  theory  is  that  the  organic  matter  is 
oxidized  by  the  oxygen  liberated  from  the  permanganate,  and 
falls  to  tho  bottom.  It  is  not  strictly  true,  however,  and  the 
solution  will  never  be  as  free  from  organic  matter  as  when  the 
other  mothods  are  employed. 

The  final  and  best  method  is  to  add  a  small  quantity  of  sodium 
carbonate  (say  5  grains),  and  expose  it  to  daylight.  When  the 
organic  matter  becomes  oxidized  at  the  expense  of  the  silver 
nitrate,  the  metallic  silver  with  the  oxidized  organic  matter  will 
fall  to  the  bottom.  This  plan  answers  admirably  when  time  is  no 
object,  but  in  dull  weather  the  action  is  slow.  When  once  the 
precipitation  fairly  commences  it  goes  on  quickly,  and  if  a  little 
freshly  precipitated  metallic  silver  be  left  at  bottom  of  the  bottle 
the  action  is  much  more  rapid.  This  is  a  wrinkle  worth  remem- 
bering in  all  photographic  operations  where  precipitation  is 
resorted  to. 

We  have  hitherto  supposed  that  the  only  contamination  of  the 
bath  is  organic  matter,  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  each 
sheet  of  paper  floated  on  the  solution  transfers  a  certain 


Silver  Nitrate    and    Hydrochloric  Acid    give    Silver  Chloride    and    Nitric  Add. 


AgNo,      +  HC1  =         AgCl 


PURIFYING   THE   SOLUTIOlf.  23 

amount  of  nitrate  of  the  alkali*  with  which  the   albumen   is 
Baited. 

Tt  will  thus  he  seen  that  in  an  old  bath  there  will  be  no  need 
to  add  the  soluble  nitrates  given  in  page  17,  since  they  will  be 
already  formed.  When  they  are  in  excess  the  best  plan  is  to 
precipitate  the  silver  by  some  means,  f  but  we  select  one  which 
is  easy  of  application,  since  it  requires  no  watching.  Evaporate 
the  solution  to  half  its  bulk,  and  slightly  acidify  it  with  nitric 
acid  (10  'hops  to  the  pint  of  solution  will  suffice) ;  throw  some 
ordinary  granulated  zinc  into  the  jai  or  bottle  containing  it ;  the 
silver  will  now  be  rapidly  thrown  down  in  the  metallic  state, 
and  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  h<  urs  the  action  will  be  com- 
plete. Xext  carefully  pour  off  all  the  fluid  as  close  as  possible 
to  the  residue.  Pick  out  all  the  lumps  of  zinc,  and  add  a 
little  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  to  dissolve  up  all  the  small 
particles  of  zinc  which  may  be  amongst  the  precipitated 
silver.  Filter  the  solution  away,  and  wash  the  residue  once 
or  twice  with  water.  Take  out  the  niter  paper,  and  diy  it 
before  a  fire,  or  in  an  oven,  and  then  detach  the  silver,  and 
transfer  it.  to  a  small  crucible,  which  place,  with  its  contents, 
over  a  Bunsen  burner  or  spirit  lamp  flame  till  it  is  rod  hot.  The 
heat  will  destroy  all  organic  matter,  leaving  a  residue  of  car- 
bonons  mutter  behin«l,  which,  after  subsequent  operations,  will 
be  eliminated  by  filtration.  Next  cover  the  silver  with  nitric 
acid,J  and  in  an  evaporating  dish  slightly  warm  it  over  a  spirit 
lamp  or  Buneen  burner.  Red  fumes  will  appear,  and  when 
all  action  has  ceased,  more  acid  must  be  added  till  such  a  time 


*  Suppose  it  is  salted  with  ammonium  chloride,  we  have — 
Ammonium  Ohloride    and    Silver  Nitrate    give    Ammonium  Nitrate    Silver  Chloride 


NH4C1          +         AgNo,        =          NH4,N03       +       Ag  CI. 
f  Several  other  methods  are  given  in  "  Instruction  in  Photography," 
the  Appendix. 
J  One  part  of  nitrio  acid  to  4  parts  of  water. 


TESTING   STRENGTH   OF   SILTEE   BATH. 


that  very  nearly  (but  not  quite)  all  the  silver  is  dissolved  up. 
Then  evaporate  off  all  the  fluid  and  allow  it  to  cool,  when  water 
can  be  added  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  over  strength  for  the 
bath.  Now  measure  the  whole  bulk  of  the  solution  in  a  glass 
measure,  and  test  by  the  argentometer  for  strength.  An  argento- 
meter  is,  in  reality,  an  instrument  for  taking  the  specific  gravity 
of  a  liquid*  It  is  as  shown  in  the  figure.  A  B  is  a  glass  tube, 


Fig.  6. 

inside  of  which  is  a  graduated  scale  showing  grains ;  C  is  a 
hollow  glass  cylinder,  which  has  a  little  glass  ball  filled  with 
mercury.  When  immersed  in  water,  the  instrument  sinks  till 
the  scale  reads  0 — that  is,  A  B  is  deeply  immersed.  When  any 
soluble  salt  is  dissolved  in  the  water,  the  stem  rises  further.  If 
the  soluble  salt  be  silver  nitrate,  the  scale  is  made  to  read  grains  per 
ounce.  It  is  then  evident,  if  the  bath  contains  any  other  soluble 
salt  besides  the  nitrate  of  silver,  the  readings  will  be  untrust- 
worthy. Supposing  you  have  a  total  quantity  of  1G£  ounces  of 
solution,  and  the  argentometer  tells  you  it  is  of  a  strength  of 
105  grains  to  the  ounce,  you  must  make  a  small  calculation  to  see 
how  much  water  you  must  add.  In  10£  ounces  of  solution  there 


TESTING    STKENGTH   OF   SILVER    BATH.  25 

will  be  1 OJ  X  1 05  or  1076|  grains  of  silver  nitrate.  If  you  want 
to  make  the  bath  40  grains  to  the  ounce,  you  must  divide  this 
quantity  by  40,  which  is  very  nearly  27.  The  original  amount 
of  fluid  (10£  ounces),  when  deducted  from  this  number  of  (27) 
ounces,  will  give  you  the  amount  (16f  ounces)  of  water  that  is 
to  be  added  to  give  you  a  bath  of  the  required  strength.  When 
the  water  is  added,  the  solution  should  be  filtered  from  the 
carbonaceous  matter,  and  the  bath,  after  neutralizing  with  sodium 
carbonate,  will  be  ready  for  use. 


CHAPTER  V. 


APPLYING  THE  SILVERING  SOLUTION  TO  THE 
ALBUM ENIZ ED  PAPER. 

As  each  piece  of  paper  takes  somewhere  about  five  minutes  to 
sensitize  and  hang  up  to  dry,  it  is  evident  that  the  larger  the 
piece  of  paper  sensitised  the  greater  will  be  the  saving  in  time 
in  this  operation.  Practically  a  whole  sheet  of  paper,  which  is 
about  22  inches  by  18,  is  the  maximum  ordinary  size,  whiUt  it 
may  be  convenient  to  float  a  piece  as  small  as  3^  by  4 £.  There 
i§  n  )t  much  difficulty  in  floating  either  one  or  the  other  if  ordin- 
ary care  be  taken,  but  it  is  no  use  disguising  the  fact  that  large 
sheets  are  sometimes  faultily  sensitized  even  by  experienced 
hands,  if  the  solution  be  not  in  a  proper  state.  The  great  enemy 
to  success  is  the  formation  of  bubbles  on  the  surface  of  the 
solution,  and  if  it  be  at  all  contaminated  with  organic  matter 
they  are  more  liable  to  be  met  with  than  if  the  bath  be  new. 
It  may  be  taken  as  a  maxim  that  no  paper  should  be  floated  if, 
to  commence  with,  the  bath  be  not  puiifiel.  A  flat  dish  of 
about  2£  inches  in  height,  and  an  inch  larger  in  breadth  and 
length  than  the  paper  to  be  floated,  is  used,  and  the  solution 
poured  in  to  a  depth  of  £  inch.  The  paper  is  grasped  by  the  two 
hands  as  shown  at  page  10,  so  that  a  convex  albumen  surface  is 
formed  downwards,  which  is  placed  diagonally  across  the  disli  and 
lowered  on  to  the  surface  of  the  solution  j  the  hands  are  at  the 


SENSITIZING   PAPEB.  27 

same  time  separated  outwards,  so  that  the  whole  surface  of  the 
paper  is  caused  to  float  on  it  without  any  arrest.  By  this  means 
all  air  is  forced  out  before  the  paper,  and  no  bubbles  should  be 
beneath.  To  make  assurance  double  sure,  the  paper  is  raised  from 
the  corners  which  were  not  grasped  by  the  hands,  and  if  by  any 
chance  a  small  bubble  should  be  found,  it  is  immediately  broken 
by  the  puint  of  a  clean  quill  pen  or  glass  roi.  Bafore  floating 
the  paper  the  surface  of  the  solution  should  be  examine  I  for  scum 
or  bubbles,  both  of  which  may  be  removed  by  passing  a  strip 
of  clean  blotting-paper  across  it.  The  dish  employed  should  be 
scrupulously  clean,  and  in  cold  weather  it  is  a  good  plan  to 
warm  b  ith-it  and  the  solution  before  the  fire  previous  to  use.  In 
warm  weather,  the  albumen  of  the  paper  may  be  in  a  very  homy 
condition,  which  increases  the  liability  to  form  bubbles.  The 
writers  have  found  that  if  the  sheet  of  paper  be  exposed  to  the 
steam  pacing  from  a  kettle  of  boiling  water  for  a  few  soconds 
(moving  it  so  th  it  every  portion  shall  come  in  contact  with  it) 
just  before  sensitising,  the  surface  becomes  more  tractable,  and  in 
a  better  condition  for  sensitizing ;  keeping  the  paper  in  a  moist 
atmoxp'irre  effects  the  same  end. 

Th<-  length  of  time  for  flouting  the  paper  depends  on  the  sub- 
jects to  be  printed,  but,  an  a  rule,  three  minutes  with  the  50-grain 
bath  will  be  found  to  answer  for  the  majority  of  negatives. 
When  the  proper  time  has  elapsed,  a  corner  of  the  paper  is  raised 
from  this  solution  by  means  of  a  glass  rod,  and  grasped  by  the 
thumV  and  forefinger  of  the  right  hand.  It  is  then  raised  very 
tlowlif  from  off  the  solution  till  another  corner  is  clear,  whon  that 
is  gra^pe,  1  oy  the  forefinger  and  thumb  of  the  left  hand  ;  and  it  is 
finally  wit  hdrawn  entirely,  and  drained  a  minute  from  the  lowest 
corner  into  the  dish.  It  is  next  hung  up  to  dry  by  a  corner  which 
should  l>e  fastened  to  an  American  clip  (fig.  7)  suspended  from  a 
line  stretched  across  the  dark  room,  taking  care  to  keep  the  corner 
which  list  left  the  solution  the  lowest.  A  piece  of  clean  blotting- 
paper  ab.nit  one  inch  long  by  £•  an  inch  wide  is  brought  in  contact 


28  BETING   SENSITIVE   PAPEB. 

with  this  latter  corner,  and  adheres  to  it  from  the  moisture* 
This  collects  the  draining  from  the  paper  whilst  drying,  and  pre- 


vents a  loss  of  silver,  since  it  can  subsequently  be  detached  and 
placed  amongst  the  residues  for  burning. 


There  is  another  mode  of  floating  large  sheets  of  paper,  which  is 
sometimes  recommended.  One  corner  is  turned  up  about  a  quarter 
of  an  inch.  This  is  held  hy  the  forefinger  and  thumh  of  the  left 
hand,  and  the  opposite  corner  of  the  diagonal  held  by  the  right 
hand.  The  first  corner  is  Drought  on  the  solution  near  the  oppo- 
site corner  of  the  dish  to  that  towards  which  it  will  eventually 


SENSITIZING   PAPER.  89 

be  near.  The  sheet,  having  assumed  a  convex  form,  is  drawn  by 
the  left  hand  across  the  dish,  the  right  hand  being  gradually 
turned  to  allow  the  whole  surface  to  come  slowly  in  contact 
with  th(3  solution.  Air-bubbles  are  said  to  be  avoided  by  this 
means,  though  for  our  own  part  we  see  no  practical  advantage 
in  it  over  the  last  method. 

Some  operators  also,  when  lifting  the  paper  from  the  dish,  pass 
it  over  a  glass  rod  placed  as  in  the  figure,  in  order  to  get  rid  ol 


all  superfluous  fluid  from  the  surface.  This  is  a  poor  substitute 
fur  withdrawing  the  paper  slowly  from  the  dish,  since  capillary 
attraction  is  much  more  effective  and  even  in  its  action  than  this 
rude  mechanical  means.  By  those  who  do  not  possess  patience, 
however,  it  may  be  tried.  Some  practical  photographers  also 
"  blot  off  "  the  excess  of  silver,  but  this  is  a  dangerous  practice 
unless  there  is  a  certainty  that  no  "  anti-chlor  "  has  been  used  in 
preparing  the  blotting-paper.  For  our  own  part  we  recommend 
the  usual  mode  of  draining  the  paper.  When  surface  dry,  it  can 
be  dried  in  a  drying  box.  The  following  is  a  kind  which  has  been 
adopted  by  one  eminent  photographer,  and  is  excellent  in  prin- 
ciple. 

Over  a  flat  and  closed  galvanized  iron  bath  erect  a  cupboard. 
Fig.  1 0  gives  the  elevation,  and  fig  1 1  the  section.  A  is  the  bath, 
D  the  cupboard,  which  may  conveniently  be  closed  with  a  roller 
shutter,*  B,  passing  over  c  c,  and  is  weighted  by  a  bar  of  lead, 

*  The  shutter  may  be  made  of  American  leather,  covered  over  with  on* 
quarter-inch  strips  of  oak  or  well-seasoned  pine.  The  shutter  should  fit 
into  a  groove  formed  along  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the  front  of  the  cupboard. 


DRYING   SENSITIVE   PAPER, 


BO  as  to  nearly  balance  the  weight  of  the  shutter  when  closed. 
A  couple  cf  Bunsen  gas-burners,  E  E,  heat  the  water  in  A  ;  the 
steam  generated  is  carried  up  the  flue  P,  which  also  carries  off 


11. 


Fig.  10. 

the  products  of  the  combustion  of  the  gas.  The  paper  may  be 
suspended  from  laths  tacked  at  the  top  of  the  cupboard  by  meant 
of  American  clips. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"WASHED   SENSITIVE    PAPER. 

FOR  some  classes  of  work  sensitized  paper  may  be  washed  with 
advantage  previous  to  drying,  and  there  is  much  economy  in  this 
plan,  particularly  in  hot  weather,  since  it  keeps  of  a  purer 
white  for  a  much  longer  period  than  where  the  silver  nitrate  is 
allowed  to  dry  on  the  surface.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
call  attention  to  the  action  of  silver  nitrate  on  the  paper.  If  a 
stick  of  lunar  caustic  be  applied  to  the  skin  when  dried,  there 
is  a  peculiar  burning  effect  produced,  and  even  in  the  dark  the 
cuticle  becomes  discoloured,  though  not  black.  In  the  alburaen- 
ized  paper  we  have  albumen  and  the  gelatine  sizing,  and  these 
substances  behave  somewhat  like  the  skin.  The  gelatine  particu- 
larly will  become  oxidized  at  the  expense  of  the  silver,  a  reddish 
organic  oxide  being  formed  ;  and  again,  if  the  silver  nitrate  be 
alkaline  or  strictly  neutral,  we  have  the  same  action  occurring  as 
when  we  precipitate  metallic  silver  by  means  of  an  alkali,  and  an 
organic  body  such  as  sugar  of  milk.  The  gelatine  takes  the  place 
of  the  latter.  When  the  free  silver  nitrate  is  removed,  the 
tendency  for  the  spontaneous  darkening  of  the  paper  is  much 
diminished,  since  the  chloride  and  albuminate  of  silver  are  much 
less  readily  reduced  than  the  nitrate.  The  following  plan  is 
adopted  for  washing  the  paper  : — The  paper,  after  floating,  is 
drawn  twice  rapidly  through  a  dish  of  rain  or  distilled  water, 


32  WASHED    SENSITIVE   PAPEB. 

and,  unless  some  other  substance  which  can  absorb  chlorine  be 
added  to  the  last  wash  water,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  soak  out 
all  the  free  nitrate,  as  then  the  paper  would  produce  flat  prints. 
It  is  then  hung  up  to  dry  as  before.  Immediately  before  use  it 
must  be  fumed  with  ammonia,  in  order  that  the  prints  may  be 
"  plucky,"  and  free  from  that  peculiar  speckiness  of  surface 
which  is  known  to  the  silver  printer  as  "  measles."  We  cim 
readily  trace  the  "measles"  to  their  source.  Suppose  all  free 
silver  nitrate  is  washed  away,  and  the  paper  be  then  exposed  to 
light,  the  chloride  is  rapidly  converted  into  subchloride,  and  chlo- 
rine is  given  off  (see  page  5) ;  if  there  be  nothing  to  absorb  it  at 
once  it  will  attack  the  albumin  ate,  which  is  blackened  at  the  same 
time,  and  fresh  chloride  will  be  formed  in  little  minute  spots. 
These  discolour,  and  are  of  different  tint  to  the  rest  of  the  print, 
and  give  rise  to  the  appearance  of  measles.  This,  of  couis  ',  is  not 
so  marked  when  a  little  free  silver  nitrate  is  left  in  the  paper ; 
but  as  what  is  removed  is  principally  removed  from  the  surface,  it 
may  still  be  unpleasantly  discernible.  Fuming  obviates  it  entirely 
if  properly  performed,  for  chlorine  and  ammonia  combine  to  form 
finally  ammonium  chloride,  a  neutral  and  inactive  salt. 

Any  other  chlorine  absorber  may  be  substituted ;  thus  citric 
acid,  potassium  nitrite,  and  many  others  are  effective,  and  cause 
vigorous  prints  to  be  produced.  Perhaps  the  easiest  way  of 
giving  the  paper  the  necessary  amount  of  ammonia  is  that 
recommended  by  Colonel  Wortley.  This  is  to  place  overnight 
the  pads  of  the  printing-frame,  if  they  be  of  felt,  into 
a  closed  box  in  which  is  placed  a  saucer  containing  a  couple  of 
drachms  of  liquor  ammonite,  and  to  withdraw  them  as  required  for 
the  printing-frames.  The  pads  will  be  thoroughly  impregnated 
with  the  vapour  of  ammonia,  and  a  couple  or  more  prints, 
in  succession,  may  be  made  before  it  is  necessary  to  chango 
them. 

The  ordinary  method  of  fuming  is  that  used  in  America. 
Hearn  describes  a  box,  which  is  very  convenient  and  simple  in 


WASHED    SENSITIVE    PAPER.  83 

construction.  He  says  :  "  Take  any  common  wooden  box,  large 
enough  for  the  purpose,  and  make  a  door  of  >uitable  size  for  it, 
which,  when  shut,  will  totally  exclude  all  light.  Make  a  false* 
bottom  in  this  about  six  inches,  or  so,  from  the  real  one,  and 
perforate  it  with  holes  of  about  the  same  size  that  a  gimlet  would 
make.  These  holes  should  be  very  numerous,  and  at  the  centre 
there  should  be,  if  anything,  a  smaller  number  of  them,  because 
the  saucer  containing  the  liquor  ammonia  is  generally  placed  at 
the  centre  of  the  real  bottom  of  the  box." 

For  our  own  part  we  dislike  the  false  bottom  as  constructed, 
and  recommend  one  of  fine  gauze,  and,  instead  of  placing 
half-an-ounce  of  ammonia  in  the  saucer  as  Hearn  directs,  we  pre- 
fer to  soak  half-a-dozen  sheets  of  blotting-paper  in  ammonium 
chloride  solution,  about  20  grains  to  the  ounce,  and  the  same 
number  of  sheets  soaked  in  lime  water ;  one  sheet  of  each  art1 
placed  together,  and  ummonia  is  liberated  by  double  decomposi- 
tion ;  calcium  chloride  being  also  formed. 

This  method  is  excellent  in  hot,  dry  weather,  since  it  imparts 
a  certain  amount  of  moisture  to  the  paper.  In  damp  weather 
it  is  a  good  plan  to  dry  the  vapour  by  sprinkling  on  the  gauze 
calcium  chloride,  which  will  rapidly  absorb  the  aqueous  vapour, 
and  will  allow  the  ammonia  to  pass  on  unimpeded.  The  sheets  of 
paper  are  held  at  the  top  of  the  box  by  American  clips,  sus- 
pended from  laths  about  three  inches  apart,  and  it  is  not  a  bad 
plan  to  fasten  a  lath  on  to  their  bottom  edge  by  the  same  means, 
to  do  away  with  their  curling.  To  fume  a  single  piece  of  paper 
it  may  be  pinned  up  to  the  inside  of  the  top  of  the  lid  of  a  box,  and 
a  drachm  of  ammonia  sprinkled  on  cotton  wool  distributed  at  the 
bottom.  The  point  to  be  attended  to  is  that  the  fuming  shall  be 
even,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  ammonia  should  rise  equally 
from  any  part  of  the  bottom  of  the  box.  In  the  plan  of  the 
box  given  above,  the  bottom  of  the  sheet  is  apt  to  get  a 
little  more  ammonia  than  the  top  The  time  of  fuming 
depends  on  so  many  things  that  a  rule  can  scarcely  be  frireu 

D 


34  WASHED   SENSITIVE   PAPER. 

for  it;  twenty  minutes  may  be  considered  about  the  extreme 
limit. 

If  this  sensitizing  bath  be  acid,  the  time  must  evidently  be 
longer  than  when  it  is  strictly  neutrnl  or  slightly  alkaline  ;  and  if 
the  negative  be  hard,  it  will  require  to  be  less  fumed  than  if  it  be 
of  a  weak  nature,  since  -the  action  of  ammonia  is  to  cause 
rapid  darkening  in  the  deep  shadows.  In  hot  weather  the 
fuming  should  be  shorter  than  in  cold,  since  the  ammonia 
volatilizes  much  more  rapidly  when  the  temperature  is  high.  On 
the  whole,  we  recommend  Colonel  Wortley's  plan  of  fuming  the 
pads  in  preference  to  fuming  the  paper. 

Another  mode  of  preserving  the  paper  from  discolouration  is 
to  add  citric  acid  to  the  printing  bath,  which  is  effective 
owing  to  the  fact  given  at  page  32.  Th^  following  formula  is  a 
good  one,  and  has  answered  with  the  writer.  It  is — 

Silver  nitrate  ..:         50  grains 

Citric  acid        ...         ...         ...         ...     20      ,, 

Water  ...         ...         ...         ...         ...       1  ounce 

The  paper  is  floated  for  the  ordinary  length  of  time,  when 
it  is  dried  thoroughly  and  placed  between  sheets  of  pure  blotting- 
paper.  It  will  keep  in  its  pristine  state  for  months,  if  ex- 
cluded from  the  air.  It  is  better  to  fume  this  paper  strongly 
before  use,  or  the  toning  becomes  a  difficult  matter. 

Ordinary  sensitized  paper  may  be  preserved  for  a  considerable 
time  if,  when  dry,  it  is  placed  between  sheets  of  blotting- 
paper  saturated  with  a  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda,  and  Jried. 

Washed  sensitized  paper  is  also  improved  in  sensitiveness 
by  floating  it  for  a  few  seconds  on— 

Citric  acid        10  grains 

Potassium  nitrite        10     ,, 

Water 1  ounce 

It  can  be  fumed,  when  dried,  in  the  usual  manner. 


WASHED    SENSITIVE    PAPEB.  85 

In  the  YEAK-BOOK  OP  PHOTOGRAPHY  for  1880  Mr.  A.  Borland 
recommends  the  following-  modification  : — 

He  floats  the  paper  ou  nitrate  of  silver,  as  usual,  and  after  it 
has  drained  surface  dry,  blots  off  any  drops  that  may  remain  at 
the  edges,  and  then  floats  the  lack  of  the  paper  for  about  three 
minutes  on  the  following  bath : — 

Nitrate  of  soda...         ...         ...         ...     1  ounce 

Distilled  water . 16  ounces 

This  is  rendered  slightly  acid  by  a  little  solution  of  freshly 
prepared  citric  acid  in  water.  The  degree  of  acidity  is  regulated 
by  litmus  pape>'  (the  blue  specimen),  which  should  be  slightly 
reddened  by  it.  After  this  solution  has  been  mixed  about  ten 
minutes,  it  is  filtered,  and  the  paper  floated.  Mr.  Borland  says 
the  paper  keeps  well,  and  prints  the  same  as  ordinary  paper, 
and  any  tone  may  be  produced* 


CHAPTER  VIL 

CUTTING    PAPER. 

WE  have  often  come  across  operators  who  have  no  really  definite 
plan  on  which  they  cut  up  their  paper  for  a  day's  work,  and  they 
have  little  idea  of  the  most  economical  place  of  dividing  the 
sheets.  The  following  remarks  by  Mr.  tiearn,  which  appeared 
in  the  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS,  1874,  will  be  useful  to  the  printer, 
and,  being  so  extremely  well  described,  we  take  the  liberty  of 
reproducing  them. 

"In  cutting  up  the  paper  for  printing,  due  regard  should  be 
given  to  the  materials  employed.  In  the  first  place,  the  fingers 
should  be  free  from  anything  that  will  stain  or  soil  the  paper, 
and  they  should  never  touch  the  silvered  side,  but  always  the 
lack.  The  hands  should  be  perfectly  dry,  free  even  from  any 
perspiration,  for  if  this  is  not  strictly  regarded  in  the  handling 
of  the  paper,  *  finger  stains '  will  appear  on  those  parts  of  the 
paper  with  which  the  fingers  come  in  contact.  To  guard 
against  this,  a  rough  towel  should  be  suspended  in  a  con- 
venient place,  and  the  hands  wiped  upon  it  as  often  as  may  he 
found  necessary — say  once  in  every  five  or  ten  minutes.  An 
ivory  newspaper  cutter,  about  eight  inches  long  and  an  inch 
wide,  together  with  a  suitable  sized  pair  of  shears,  will  be  all  of 
the  instruments  necessary. 


CUTTING   PAPEB.  37 

"In  cutting  the  paper  for  very  large  prints,  such  as  13  by  16, 
14  by  18,  16  by  20,  &c.,  the  beginner  had  best  (to  obtain  the 
right  size)  lay  over  the  sensitive  paper  the  proper  sized  mat 
that  is  to  be  pLiced  over  the  print  when  finished,  and  then  cut 
accordingly.  Considerable  paper  can  be  saved  in  this  way,  and 
printed  in  curd  size. 

"  There  should  always  be  an  assortment  of  different  sized  mata 
in  the  printing  room  ;  one  of  each  size  will  do,  which  should  be 
kept  expressly  for  this  purpose. 

"In  cutting  the  paper  for  an  11  by  1 4  print,  the  length  of 
the  sheet  is  generally  placed  before  the  printer,  and  the  paper 
bent  over  to  the  further  edge  of  the  >hcet,  and  then  creased,  and 
thus  cut  into  two  equal  pieces,  one  of  which  can  be  used  for  the 
contemplated  print.  I  would  recommend  that  instead  of  taking 
exactly  one  halt'  of  the  sheet  of  paper,  as  described  above,  to  take 
about  an  inch  more  than  the  half,  so  as  to  allow  for  any  slight 
tear  that  may  happen  along  Ihe  edges  of  the  paper  during  the 
washing,  toning,  &c.,  and  also  $o  as  to  be  sure  of  having  the 
paper  wide  enough  for  the  different  sized  mats. 

"  I  have  seen  some  nice  prints  printed  upon  the  exact  half  of 
a  sheet  of  paper,  which,  when  taken  from  the  final  washing  (and 
the  edges  trimmed,  being  slightly  torn),  were  then  too  narrow  to 
be  covered  with  the  proper  sized  mats,  and  had  to  be  rejected ; 
whereas,  if  in  eutting  this  paper  allowance  had  been  made  for 
this  final  trimming,  the  prints  would  have  been  saved.  The  rest 
of  the  sheet  can  be  cut  very  well  into  sixteen  or  eighteen  carte 
pieces. 

"  In  cutting  cabinets  out  of  a  sheet,  fifteen  is  all  that  can  very 
well  be  obtained,  and  to  get  that  number  lay  the  sheet  on  a  wide 
table,  or  printing  bench  (with  the  length  of  it  running  from 
right  to  left),  and  divide  it  into  three  equal  parts.  By  laying 
the  cabinet  glass  on  these  strips  of  paper,  and  cutting  the  paper 
a  little  wider  than  the  glass,  five  cabinets  can  be  obtained  from 
each  strip,  and  fifteen  out  of  the  whole.  These  pieces  will  be 


38 


CUTTING  PAPEB. 


plenty  large  enough,  both  in  length  and  width;  besides,  this  ia 
a  very  convenient  and  economical  way  to  cut  the  paper  without 
waste. 

"  By  a  glance  at  the  cut  (fig.  12)  it  will  be  seen  that  the  size 
of  the  pieces  will  be  4\  by  6  inches,  and  consequently  there  will 
be  more  room  for  the  width  than  there  will  be  for  the  length. 
The  edges  of  the  width  side  of  the  paper  can  be  trimmed  a  little, 

22  inches. 


42-5 
inch. 


Fig.  12. 

as  there  is  usually  some  little  tear,  or  some  other  defect,  that 
can  thus  advantageously  be  got  rid  of.  Often,  when  there  are 
only  a  few  cabinets  to  be  printed,  I  take  a  quarter-sheet,  and 
bend  over  the  length  of  it  to  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch  of 
the  opposite  side,  crease  it,  and  then  cut  with  the  paper-knife. 
You  thus  obtain  a  large  and  small  piece ;  the  smaller  one  of  these 
can  be  cut  into  four  cards,  and  the  larger  one  can  be  cut  in  two, 
and  thus  obtain  two  generous  size  cabinets ;  or  the  printer 
can  use  the  larger  of  the  two  pieces  for  printing  the  4  by  4  size. 
This  is  the  way  I  obtain  my  4  by  4  pieces  when  I  wish  them. 

"  The  beginner  must  remember  that  in  bending  over  the  length 
of  a  sheet  of  paper  18  by  22  inches  in  size,  the  divided  paper 
will  be  11  by  18  inches  in  size,  which  is  termed,  in  the  language 
of  the  printing  room,  half-sheet. 

"To  obtain  the  quarter-sheet,  the  length  of  the  half-sheet  is  cut 
equally  in  two  pieces,  and  then  the  size  will  be  9  by  11  inches. 

"  A  glance  at  fig.  13  will  show  that  either  a  generous  size 
4  by  4,  or  a  couple  of  nice  cabinet  pieces,  together  with  four 
cartes,  can  be  easily  obtained  from  a  quarter-sheet. 


CUTTING    PAPEE. 


39 


"To  obtain  thirty-two  cartes,  quarter  the  sheet,  and  divide 
each  quarter  in!o  eight  equal  pieces. 


9  inches. 


1 

i 

n 

is 

i 

2 

s 

4 

Fig.  18. 

"  To  obtain  thirty-six  pieces  out  of  a  sheet,  it  is  necessary,  for 
convenience,  to  first  quarter  it,  and  then  divide  it  into  three 
equal  strips  (fig.  14)  taken  from  the  length  of  the  paper.  The 


9  inches. 


8  x9  inches. 
Stereoscope. 


Fig.  14. 

pieces,  as  thus  cut,  will  measure  3f  by  9  inches,  which  will 
answer  admirably  for  the  stereoscopic  size.  Each  one  of  these 
strip -i  of  paper  can  be  cut  into  three  good  sized  cartes,  making 
nine  out  of  a  quarter,  and  thirty-six  out  of  a  whole  sheet. 

"  Forty-two  cartes  can  be  obtained  very  neatly  by  laying  the 
sheet  before  you  (fig.  4),  and  dividing  the  length  into  seven  equal 
parts;  when  done,  each  strip  should  measure  3}  by  18  inches  in 
size.  The  whole  number  of  pieces  will  be  for  y-two.  It  will 
be  teen  that  the  size  of  the  carte  pieces  (3  by  3}  inches)  only 
allows  very  little  room  for  waste  paper  in  trimming  after 


CUTTING    PA  FEB. 


printing,  and  thus  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  exercise  some 
care  in  placing  these  pieces  on  the  negative  for  printing. 


8  nohes. 


Fig.  15. 

"  To  obtain  the  forty- two  carte  pieces  from  the  sheet  without 
waste,  great  care  is  required  in  sensitizing  the  paper  to  prevent 
tearing,  and  also  to  prevent  silver  from  getting  on  the  back  of 
it ;  in  cutting  it  either  the  shears  or  the  paper-knife  should  be 
used  with  care.  Do  not  tear  the  paper  with  the  hands,  as  is  veiy 
often  done,  especially  when  the  printer  is  in  a  hurry. 

"  In  making  out  the  above,  I  have  considered  the  sheet  of 
paper  to  be  18  by  22  inches  in  size,  but  it  is  seldom  that  the 
sheet  measures  exactly  this,  for  the  length  often  measures  from 
one  quarter  to  one  inch  more,  but  never  less,  while  the  width  is 
invariably  the  same.  When  this  is  the  case,  a  little  better  margin 
is  allowed  in  cutting  the  sheet  up,  which  is  a  good  thing,  espe- 
cially when  a  large  number  of  small  pieces  are  to  be  obtained 
from  the  sheet.  Forty-two  pieces  is  all  that  should  be  obtained 
from  a  sheet  of  paper  which  measures  18  by  22  (or  18  by  2:'-^, 
&c.)  inches,  because  the  pieces  of  paper  are  now  as  small  as  they 


CUTTING   PAPEB. 


41 


should  be  with  safe  results  to  the  prints,  on  account  of  bad  edges, 
&c.,  which  it  is  often  necessary  to  trim  after  printing.  There  is 
a  way  to  obtain  forty-eight,  and  even  fifty-two  pieces  of  paper 
from  the  sheet,  but  I  would  not  advise  any  of  my  readers  to  try 
to  obtain  that  quantity,  as  there  are  many  disadvantages  con- 
nected with  it  that  more  than  neutralize  the  benefits.  The  paper 
is  sometimes  cut  up  to  the  exact  carte  size,  and  then  printed  up 
as  it  is,  thus  saving  the  trimming  of  the  prints  after  printing. 
This  is,  perhaps  (?),  a  pood  way,  but  for  the  beginner  it  is  very 
risky,  because  the  paper  will  have  to  be  placed  exactly  on  the 
negative,  or  else  the  print  will  be  worthless.  Even  to  the  expe- 
rienced printer  this  is  very  difficult,  because  the  greatest  care  and 
skill  are  required  to  doit  as  it  should  be  done;  then  the  inexpr.  ' 
meed  printer  could  not  hope  to  do  it  successfully. 


. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 


PRINTING-FRAMES. 


THERE  are  a  variety  of  printing-frames  in  the  market,  each 
of  which  may  have  something  to  recommend  it ;  and  yet,  as  a 
rule,  the  simpler  and  more  uniform  the  frames  are,  the  more 
handy  are  they  for  the  printer,  gince  he  rapidly  becomes 
accustomed  to  handling  them,  and  knows  their  peculiarities. 
The  simplest  pattern  is  one  introduced  by  Meagher,  as  shown  in 


fig.  16. 

fig  16.  The  negative  rests  on  india-rubber  strips  which  line  a 
framework  of  its  exact  size,  and  a  folding  back,  as  shown,  covers 
it.  The  paper  is  pressed  on  to  the  negative  by  a  pad,  and  the 


PRINTING   FRAHES.  43 

back  on  that  by  means  of  two  brass  springs.  This  is  a  very 
excellent  pattern  for  cabinet  pictures  and  cartes,  but  we  can 
scarcely  recommend  it  for  anything  larger,  since  even  if  it  wero 
possible  to  supply  sufficient  pressure  to  secure  proper  contact  of 
the  paper,  the.  negative  would  be  in  danger  of  being  cracked. 

For  all  sizes  above  cabinet,  the  printing  frame  as  given  in 
the  figure  is  the  best.     The  construction  will  be  seen  at  once. 


Fig.  17- 

In  the  front  part  of  the  frame  is  a  piece  of  thick  plate  glass 
(depending  for  its  thickness  on  the  size  of  the  frame).  On  this 
the  negative  rests,  and  over  this  again  are  the  necessaiy  pads 
and  backboard,  which  is  clamped  down  by  means  of  two  cross- 
bars, on  which  springs  are  fixed.  An  increase  of  pressure  may  be 
given  by  increasing  the  thickness  of  the  pad  (which  may  consist 
of  smooth  felt)  next  the  negative,  or  by  sheets  of  thick  blotting- 
paper  quite  free  from  all  folding  marks. 

Sometimes  the  back  of  the  frame  is  hinged  in  three  pieces,* 
and  this  is  almost  essential  for  large  prints  (say  2  feet  by  1  foot 
6  inches),  since  every  part  of  the  picture  should  be  capable  of 
examination  during  the  progress  in  printing.  With  a  simple 
single  hinged  backboard  this  is  impossible. 

•  In  fig.  18  the  fastening  for  only  one  of  the  pressure-bars  is  given,  to 
*Yoid  complication. 


44 


PBINTDfG    FRAMES. 


When  large  negatives  are  to  be  printed,  the  plate  glass 
front  should  always  have  at  least  an  inch  .clear  all  round. 
For  smaller  negatives  (say  12  by  10  and  under)  half-an-inch 


Fig.  14. 

clear  is  sufficient.    This  allows  a  certain  latitude  in  the  position 
of  the  negative,  and  enables  the  fingers  to  get  at  the  paper 


fig.  15. 

without  inconvenience.  In  the  frames  in  which  the  front  of  the 
negative  is  unsupported  this  cannot  be  the  case,  and  for  this 
reason  (as  well  as  those  given  above)  they  are  not  recommended 
for  large  prints. 


<* 


OflAPTEE  K, 


PREPARING    A    LANDSCAPE    NEGATIVE    FOR 
PRINTING. 

LANDSCAPE  negatives  are  rarely  ever  in  perfect  harmony  for  print- 
ing, and  much  maybe  done  by  judicious  doctoring  of  the  best 
of  negatives  to  secure  the  best  of  prints.  With  moderate  nega- 
tives it  is  absolutely  essential  that  they  should  be  improved. 
Let  us  take  the  example  of  a  hard  landscape  negative,  which 
if  printed  so  that  the  deep  shades  should  show  detail,  would  show 
none  in  the  high  lights. 

A  piece  of  thin  tissue  paper  (the  kind  known  as  papier 
miner  ale  is  the  best),  of  the  size  of  the  negative,  is  damped 
evenly  with  a  sponge,  and  carefully  pasted  on  the  back  of  the 
negative.  The  negative  is  then  held  up  to  the  light,  and  the  high 
lights  carefully  traced  with  a  faint  line  by  means  of  a  pencil. 
These  are  then  cut  out  by  means  of  a  sharp  penknife,  and  a  trial 
print  taken  in  the  shade.  If  it  be  found  that  the  shadows  still 
print  too  deeply  when  the  detail  in  the  high  light  is  visible, 
another  thickness  of  tissue  paper  maybe  applied,  cutting  out  this 
time,  perhaps,  the  high  lights  and  the  half  tones.  Another  trial 
print  will  show  whether  the  object  is  attained.  If  Mill  not  satis- 
factory, crayon  in  powder  from  the  scrapings  of  a  stick  of  crayon, 
or  blacklead,  may  be  applied  by  a  stump  to  the  parts  requiring  it. 
It  may  happen  that  the  effects  of  the  tissue  paper  may  be  seen 


46  PREPABDTG   LANDSCAPE   NEGATIVES. 

in  the  print  by  the  light  penetrating  beneath  it,  and  causing 
the  edges  of  the  shadows  to  print  too  dark.  In  this  case,  which 
may  arise  from  the  negative  being  taken  on  a  thin  glass  plate, 
the  parts  covering  the  high  lights,  and  which  were  cut  out, 
should  be  indented  with  a  jagged  edge  such  as  this,  the  dotted 


Fig.  16. 

line  showing  whore  the  cut  would  come  if  it  had  been  cut  out  in 
a  clean  sharp  line.  Another  mode  which  we  have  sometimes 
found  successful,  though  care  is  required  in  employing  it,  is 
to  coat  the  back  of  the  plate  with  a  very  dilute  emulsion  of 
a  quarter  the  ordinary  consistency,  than  to  expose  it,  through 
the  negative,  and  develop  with  one  of  the  ordinary  alkaline  deve- 
lopers (we  prefer  the  ferrous  oxalate),*  and  then  fix.  This  last 
film  may  be  protected  with  a  layer  of  albumen  1  part  of  albumen 
to  25  parts  of  water.  By  this  means  the  shadows  become  subdued 
and  the  contrasts  diminished,  and  there  is  no  danger  of  any 
sharp  demarcations  in  the  shades  being  apparent. 

There  is  one  way  of  improving  a  hard  negative,  if  taken  on 
a  gelatine  plate,  which  would  probably  be  dangerous  in  the 
hands  of  a  novice,  but  which  is  most  effective  when  used  with 
skill  and  judgment,  but  must  be  applied  before  the  plate  is 
varnished.  One  of  the  most  popular  methods  of  reducing  the 
density  of  an  over-intensified  gelatine  negative  is  with  a  very 
weak  solution  of  perchloride  of  iron.  The  writers  have  found 
that  the  reducing  agent  may  be  applied  locally.  Let  us  suppose 
the  case  of  a  figure  in  a  landscape  in  a  light  dress,  which  pro- 
duces a  white  patch  in  the  print.  The  negative  should  be  placed 
in  a  dish  of  water,  then  lifted  up  until  the  part  to  be  reduced 

*  See  "Instruction  in  Photography"  (page  67),  fourth  edition. 


PBEPAHING   LANDSCAPE   NEGATIVES.  47 

is  just  above  the  level  of  the  water ;  a  solution  of  perchlori  de 
of  iron  should  then  be  applied  to  the  part  with  a  camel' s-hair 
pencil,  care  being  taken  that  it  does  not  spread  over  the  edges 
or  run  down  the  negative.  When  this  is  found  to  be  taking 
place,  the  plate  should  be  allowed  to  fall  into  the  water; 
it  can  then  be  lifted  again,  and  the  operation  proceeded  with. 
It  is  not  easy  to  give  any  strength  for  the  solution  of  perchloii'le 
of  iron,  but  it  is  /best  to  begin  weak,  and  strengthen  as  requiicd. 
A  saturated  solution  has  been  used  in  an  obstinate  case  without 
any  mischief  being  done,  but  this  required  very  careful  watching. 

For  landscapes,  Mr.  England  has  successfully  used  a  strong 
solution  of  cyanide  of  potassium  with  the  same  object.  He 
moistens  the  parts  of  the  gelatine  plates  which  require  reduction 
with  water  applied  by  a  paint-brush,  and  afterwards,  with 
another,  applies  the  cyanide.  The  reduction  can  be  watched  as 
it  progresses,  and  by  a  judicious  u-=e  of  the  brush  no  sharp  line 
of  demarcation  between  the  reduced  and  unaltered  parts  is 
visible. 

With  a  thin  negative  the  tissue  paper  may  be  applied  as  before, 
only  in  this  case  the  shadows  are  left  bare,  the  half  tones  have 
one  thickness  of  tissue  paper  over  them,  the  highest  lights  two  or 
three.  An  emulsion  may  be  used  in  this  case  as  well,  only 
instead  of  fixing  the  transparency  which  is  at  the  back,  the  pre- 
cipitated silver  is  dissolved  away  by  nitric  acid,  and  the  developer 
applied  again.  By  this  means,  the  density  in  the  high  lights 
may  be  doubled  if  required.  It  must  again  be  repeated,  that  in 
all  cases  the  use  of  emulsion  requires  great  care,  seeing  that  if 
any  get  on  the  varnished  surface,  markings  are  sure  to  occur. 
It  sometimes  happens,  especially  with  -gelatine  plates,  that  the 
corners  of  one  side  of  a  negative  print  too  dark.  This  is 
very  visible  in  sky  and  sea  pictures.  The  careful  application 
of  blacklead  on  the  tissue  paper  on  the  back  of  the  plate  may 
often  save  a  beautiful  negative  that  would  be  otherwise  useless. 

In  most  landscape  negatives  there  is  a  want  of  atmosphere 


48  PREPARING  LANDSCAPE   NEGATIVES. 

(by  which  we  mean  the  haze  always  present  in  the  air)  in  the 
distance  and  middle  distances,  and  we  have  found  that  by  apply- 
ing one  piece  of  tissue-paper  to  the  back  of  the  negative  to  cover 
the  middle  distance  and  distances,  and  another  to  cover  the  dis- 
tance alone,  atmospheric  effect  is  produced.  The  effect  of  atmos- 
phere is  usually  shown  by  grey  tones  as  compared  with  those 
of  the  foreground,  and  the  greyer  they  are  the  more  distant 
should  the  objects  be  away  in  nature.  This  effect  is  accomplished 
by  the  tissue-paper.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that  the 
lights  of  distant  objects  are  greyer  than  those  of  the  foreground, 
hence  the  tissue  paper  must  be  used  with  judgment  to  prevent 
the  distant  lights  from  appearing  too  white.  This  sometimes  is 
effected  by  giving  the  lights  in  the' for  eg  round  a  covering  of  tissue 
paper.  We  very  much  doubt  if  there  exists  any  landscape  nega- 
tive which  would  not  be  improved  by  the  use  of  tissue  paper, 
since  photography  often  tends  to  do  away  with  atmosphere. 
We  have,  in  some  cases,  strengthened  the  high  lights  on  the  film 
side  with  the  paint-brush  and  Prussian  blue.  This  requires  skill, 
and  should  be  done  very  sparingly.  It  may  be  objected  that 
when  these  artifices  are  resorted  to,  that  the  photograph  must  of 
necessity  fail  in  regard  to  truthfulness.  The  answer  to  this 
objection  is  quite  easy  to  give.  If  a  photograph  were  true  in 
itself,  they  should  never  be  resorted  to,  but  since  it  always  falls 
short  of  the  truth,  it  is  quite  legitimate  to  give  it  the  effect  that 
a  perfect  process  would  do,  by  which  we  mean  one  in  which  the 
intensity  of  the  negative  is  exactly  proportional  to  the  intensity 
of  the  light  producing  it. 

It  has  been  shown  in  the  PHOTOGRAPHIC  NEWS  of  1877,  that 
the  gradations  of  a  negative  are  never  perfect,  and  the  use  of  the 
tissue  paper,  &c.,  makes  it  more  nearly  in  accord  with  nature. 
These  remarks,  of  course,  have  reference  only  to  what  we 
might  call  "  a  good  printing  negative;"  the  advisability  of  doctor- 
ing poor  negatives  is  scarcely  open  to  argument.  Improve  as 
much  as  you  like,  but  be  very  careful  not  to  overdo  it. 


CHAPTER  X, 


PRINTING  THE  LANDSCAPE   PICTURE. 

A  TRIAL  print  from  a  negative  should  first  of  all  be  taken,  to 
enable  the  operator  to  guage  as  to  how  much  is  required  to  be 
done  to  it.  A  piece  of  sensitized  paper  of  the  exact  size  of  tho 
plate  is  taken  and  examined  by  transmitted  light  in  the  dark 
room.  If  there  be  any  appearance  of  markings  due  to  bubbles, 
or  of  star-like  metallic  spots,  probably  due  to  small  particles  oi 
iron  being  in  the  albumen,  it  need  not  be  rejected  altogether. 
Should  there  be  any  of  these  defects,  the  sheet  should  be  placed 
on  one  side  to  cut  up  into  smaller  sizes.  We  will  suppose  that 
we  are  going  to  print  a  15  by  12  negative.  A  strong  frame  (of 
the  description  given  at  page  4^)  must  be  employed,  and  the 
thick  plate  glass  carefully  freed  from  all  dust,  grit,  or  stains.  The 
back  of  the  negative  is  then  placed  in  contact  with  it,  so  as  to 
occupy  the  centre  of  the  frame.  The  piece  of  sensitive  papej 
is  placed  over  it,  and  the  back  placed  loosely  over  it,  and  is 
then  carried  face  downward  into  the  place  where  the  printing 
is  to  be  done,  and  the  frame  is  placed  face  downwards  on  the 
floor,  and  leit  for  a  few  minutes.  By  this  artifice  the  paper 
takes  the  same  degree  of  humidity  as  the  atmosphere,  and  there 
will  be  no  danger  of  any  cockling,  and  consequent  -(as  it  is  termed) 
want  of  contact,  between  the  paper  and  the  negative.  This  is 


50  PRINTING   LANDSCAPES. 

only  necessary  when  there  is  any  very  great  difference  in  the 
temperature  of  the  drying  room  and  the  place  where  the  prints 
are  to  be  exposed,  and  in  some  establishments  the  difficulty  is  met 
by  carrying  the  whole  supply  of  paper  in  a  closed  box  into  the 
latter  place,  and  allowing  it  to  absorb  any  moisture  that  it  can 
take  up.  In  any  case,  the  paper  is  next  to  be  placed  in  absolute 
contact  with  the  negative,  and  we  strongly  recommend  the 
use  of  sheets  of  blotting-paper  cut  to  the  proper  size  (about 
four  thicknesses  will  be  sufficient),  and  backed  by  a  thick  pad  of 
closely  woven  and  very  smooth  felt.  These  latter  are  rather 
expensive,  but  are  very  durable  if  ordinary  care  be  taken  of 
them.  The  blotting-paper  is  useful  in  causing  contact,  and  also 
because  any  accidental  presence  of  silver  nitrate  solution  on  the 
back  of  the  sensitive  paper  is  immediately  detected,  and  there  is, 
consequently,  no  danger  of  carrying  it  to  another  print  and 
spoiling  it,  which  it  might  do  were  it  absorbed  by  the  felt  pad. 
The  back  of  the  frame  is  then  placed  in  situ,  and  the  hinged 
cross-piece  brought  down  and  secured  by  the  fasteners.  If  the 
springs  be  sufficiently  strong,  the  film  of  the  negative  should  now 
be  in  absolute  contact  with  the  sensitive  paper.  If  there  be  any 
grit  on  the  plate  glass,  or  adhering  to  the  back  of  the  negative, 
it  is  highly  probable  that  the  glass  plate  will  crack,  and  if  the 
plate  on  which  the  negative  is  taken  be  very  curved,*  the  same 
disaster  may  be  expected.  Suppose  the  day  to  be  bright,  and 
the  negative  fairly  dense,  the  frame  may  be  placed  for  the  trial 
print  facing  away  from  the  sun  (if  there  be  any)  so  that  it 
receives  merely  skylight,  and  no  direct  rays.  When  the  trans- 
parent parts  of  the  negative  seem  to  have  taken  a  fairly 
black  or  brown  colour,  the  print  should  be  examined.  In 
practice  we  have  found  (supposing  the  printing  room  be  away 
from  the  dark  room)  that  a  cloth  of  thin  yellow  calico  is  a  useful 

*  For  this  reason,  amongst  others,  it  is  desirable  that  photographers 
should  use  glass  for  their  negatives  which  is  at  least  tolerably  flat. 


PRINTING   LANDSCAPES.  61 

adjunct  during  the  examination.  The  cloth  is  large  enough  to 
cover  the  frame  and  also  the  head  of  the  operator.  One  half  of 
the  back  is  loosened  and  raised,  the  half  pieces  are  pulled  back, 
and  the  paper  will  probably  be  found  adhering  to  the  negative, 
and  may  require  a  little  manoeuvring  to  separate  it.  A  very 
thin  slip  (of  the  size  of  a  toothpick)  of  soft  wood,  sharpened  at 
one  end,  is  a  good  implement  to  employ,  as  by  inserting  it  the 
paper  can  be  separated  at  one  corner,  and  then  be  raised  by  the 
fingers.  We  have  seen  some  printers  blow  against  the  paper,  as 
if  they  were  separating  the  leaves  of  a  book  from  one  another, 
but  this  method  is  to  be  deprecated,  since  particles  of  saliva  are 
apt  to  be  carried  on  to  the  paper  with  the  breath,  and  to  cause 
spots,  which  often  appear  unaccountable.  Should  the  print 
appear  slightly  deeper  than  it  is  required  to  remain,  it  is  pro- 
bably ready  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  action  of  light,  but  the 
remaining  half  of  the  paper  must  next  be  examined  to  see 
whether  such  is  the  case.  To  do  this  the  first  half  of  the  pressure- 
board  of  the  frame  which  is  loose  must  be  pressed  down  once  more 
into  position,  the  frame  reversed  end  for  end,  and  the  other  half  of 
the  board  opened. 

If  the  print  is  large  (say  15  by  12)  it  is  not  advisable  to  look 
at  much  of  it  at  once,  or  for  a  longer*  time  than  can  be  avoided. 
It  constantly  happens  that  on  a  warm  day  the  paper  contracts 
during  the  short  time  necessary  for  a  proper  examination  of  the 
print ;  the  consequence  is,  that  the  paper  does  not  fall  on  the 
same  place  on  the  negative  when  reflected,  and  the  result  is  a 
double  print  on  the  paper. 

The  printing  being  judged  to  be  complete,  the  paper  is  with- 
drawn by  taking  off  pressure-board  and  pads,  and  put  away  for 
the  further  operations  of  toning  and  fixing.  In  one  establish- 
ment we  are  acquainted  with,  the  prints  when  taken  from  the 
frame  are  placed  in  a  box  the  lid  of  which  is  pierced  by  a  hole 
covered  with  a  dark  cloth  ;  whilst  others  keep  them  in  a  press 
of  blotting-paper.  The  great  point  to  attend  to,  however,  is  to 


52  PEINTJNG   LANDSCAPES. 

keep  them  away  from  all  actinic  light;  and  we  should  say,  further, 
from  all  light,  since  darkened  silver  chloride  becomes  oxidized 
in  light  which  is  usually  considered  to  be  non-actinic.  No 
doubt  every  printer  is  aware  that  the  prints  produced  from  the 
same  negative  and  on  the  same  sample  of  albumenised  paper 
similarly  sensitized  vary  considerably  in  richness  and  depth  on 
different  days.  For  instance,  when  the  light  is  bad,  and  when, 
consequently,  the  printing  takes  a  long  time,  the  colour  of  the 
darkened  surface  will  be  found  to  be  much  duller  than  on  a  dny 
when  the  light  is  powerful.  Silver  albuminate  is  much  less 
sensitive  to  feeble  light,  whilst  in  bright  light  the  difference  in 
sensitiveness  is  not  nearly  so  marked,  and  this  may  account  in  a 
certain  degree  for  the  difference ;  but  if  any  one  takes  the  trouble 
to  expose  sensitised  albumenized  paper  to  bright  light  so  as  to 
darken,  and  then  to  cover  up  half,  leaving  the  other  half  to  be 
exposed  to  the  light  coming  through  ruby-glass,  it  will  be  found 
that  there  is  a  difference  in  colour  between  the  two  portions, 
and  on  toning  the  differences  will  be  still  more  marked.  In  dull 
weather  the  red  and  yellow  rays  bear  a  greater  proportion  to  the 
blue  and  violet  rays  (all  of  which  enter  into  the  composition  o.f 
white  light)  than  they  do  on  a  bright  day.  It  is  the  blue  and 
violet  rays  that  reduce  the  silver  chloride  to  the  state  of  sub- 
chloride,  and  then  oxidize  the  latter ;  yet  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  red  and  yellow  also  oxidize  the  sub-chloride  without 
being  able  primarily  to  produce  it.  Hence  on  a  bright  day,  when 
the  printing  is  quick,  the  red  and  yellow  rays  have  but  little- 
time  to  do  any  work,  whilst  on  a  dull  day  they  have  plenty  of 
opportunity  of  oxidizing  the  sub-chloride  as  fast  as  it  is  formed. 
The  oxidized  image  is  always  more  difficult  to  tone  than  one 
which  is  unoxidized,  hence  the  advantage  of  printing  in  a  gcod 
light  if  possible.  The  writers  believe  that  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  the  variation  in  tone  of  silver  prints,  which  is  only  too 
often  to  be  seen,  is  caused  by  this  difference  in  length  of  expo- 
sure to  the  light. 


MINTING    LANDSCAPES.  53 

The  operator  must  now  be  supposed  to  be  rognizant  of  the 
operations  of  toning  and  fixing  which  are  to  be  described  in 
subsequent  chapters,  and  that  he  has  the  finished  trial  print  of 
the  particular  landscape  negative  before  him.  He  sees  whether 
the  middle  distance  or  far  distance  is  obtrusive,  and  notes  which 
portions  require  to  be  softened  down  by  tissue  paper,  or  to  be 
brought  nearer  by  strengthening  the  high-lights,  and  eventually 
forms  a  picture  of  it  as  it  should  be,  centreing  his  imagination  in 
it  as  built  up  round  the  point  of  principal  interest.  He 
endeavours  to  see  whether  the  sweeps  of  light  and  shade  lead 
up  to  this  principal  object  in  the  view,  and  whether,  if  light,  it 
is  in  contrast  with  an  immediate  dark  part  of  the  picture,  or 
vice  versa. 

Knowing  that  this  is  one  of  the  laws  of  art,  he  next  should 
endeavour  practically  to  give  effect  to  his  imaginative  picture 
by  the  judicious  manipulation  of  tissue  paper,  the  crayon,  and 
the  paint,  such  as  described  in  Chapter  IX.  The  next  point  to 
attend  to  is  as  to  whether  the  picture  requires  clouds  or  not,  and 
if  he  have  a  stock  of  cloud  negatives  of  the  right  size,  he  must 
endeavour  to  pick  out  one,  a  portion  of  which  will  compose  well 
with  the  lines  of  the  picture,*  and  at  the  same  time  be  con  ect 
as  regards  light  and  shade.  When  such  a  negative  is  selected,  it 
remains  to  print  it  in.-  A  white  sky  is  an  abomination,  and  a 
plain  tinted  one  without  gradation  is  nearly  as  bad.  If,  there- 
fore, the  operator  has  the  heart  and  means  to  do  this  double 
printing,  he  should  never  neglect  to  do  it. 

But  we  would  here  remind  him  that  when  a  sky-negative  has 
been  used  with  a  particular  view,  it  should  always  be  devoted  *o 
that  landscape.  Nothing  could  be  in  worse  taste,  or  further 
from  nature,  than  to  use  the  same  sky  with  different  landscapes. 
We  once  saw  a  frame  of  sixteen  views,  thirteen  of  which  were 
backed  with  the  same  sky ;  this  was  bad  enough,  but  the  absur- 

*  See  "  Pictorial  Effect  in  Photography  "  (Piper  and  Carter). 


54  PEDfTING   LANDSCAPES. 

dity  went  further,  and  in  the  same  exhibition  were  landscapes  by 
another  photographer  with  the  same  sky  !  The  inference  is  that 
both  these  photographers  bought  their  sky  negatives,  printed 
them,  and  exhibited  them  as  their  own — a  proceeding  to  which  a 
harsh  name  might  be  given.  To  use  a  cloud  negative  properly, 
the  reader  should  consult  the  chapter  on  ft  Combination  Printing." 

There  is  another  artifice,  however,  that  does  away  with 
the  blank  sky.  It  is  practised  by  some  of  the  leading  photo- 
graphers in  England,  and  may  be  put  in  requisition  instead 
of  the  more  elaborate  double  printing.  In  order  to  do  this,  a 
not  quite  opaque  sky — that  is,  one  which  "  prints  in  "  a  little — 
is  necessary.  Very*  effective  clouds  may  be  produced  by  a 
paint-brush  and  lamp-black,  Indian  ink,  or  gamboge,  by  paint- 
ing them  artistically  at  the  back  of  the  negative.  It  matters  not 
if  the  clouds  so  formed  show  sharp  lines  and  dots,  since,  if  the 
printing  be  done  in  diffused  light,  the  thickness  of  the  glass 
plate  on  which  the  negative  is  taken  shades  these  off,  and  gives 
them  the  soft  edges  which  are  natural  to  clouds.  The  clouds 
may  take  any  of  the  usual  shapes  as  seen  in  nature,  and  the 
paint  should  not  be  applied  too  strongly,  but  should  have  a 
certain  amount  of  transparency.  In  some  negatives  we  have 
seen  taken  on  dry  plates,  the  sky  was  very  transparent,  and, 
when  printed  in  the  ordinary  manner,  showed  a  good  deal  more 
than  perceptible  tint.  Yet,  by  a  judicious  masking,  fleecy 
clouds  floating  in  a  light  sky  were  produced,  which  deceived 
the  greatest  connoisseurs  in  such  matters. 

We  will  now  describe  how  such  a  negative  should  be  prepared 
for  printing. 

Black  varnish  should  be  carefully  run  round  the  sky-line  on 
the  face  of  the  negative,  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch.  On 
the  back  of  the  negative  the  medium  should  cover  the  sky  to 
within  one-eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  sky-line,  and  by  this  means 
u  sharp  but  slightly  softened  edge  of  the  distant  landscape 
was  projected.  The  breadth  of  the  black  varnish  border  on 


PRINTING   LANDSCAPES.  55 

the  back  was  slightly  greater  than  that  on  the  film  side  of  the 
negative,  being  about  an  inch.  A  piece  of  cardboard  was  also 
roughly  cut  out  to  the  sky-line,  and  left  sufficiently  broad  so 
as  to  more  than  cover  the  sky  when  laid  flat  on  it.  The 
negative  with  the  clouds  painted  on  it  was  now  placed  in  the 
pressure-frame,  with  the  sensitive  paper  in  contact  with  it.  Out- 
side the  frame,  and  corresponding  with  the  sky-line,  the  edge  of 
the  cardboard  was  placed,  a  small  bar  to  act  as  a  weight  was  placed 
across  it  as  shown  in  the  figure,  and  the  top  end  supported  by  a 


Fig.  10. 

couple  of  wooden  pegs.  The  printing  took  place  in  diffused  light. 
AVhen  the  picture  was  withdrawn  from  the  frame,  the  sky,  being 
shaded  gradually  by  the  card,  was  printed  in  lightly,  whilst  the 
remaining  portion  of  the  negative  received  the  full  light ;  the  sky, 
as  is  right  it  should  be,  was  darker  near  the  zenith  than  toward 
the  horizon,  where  it  was,  in  fact,  white;  but  since  ihe 
clouds  were  printed  in  al  the  top,  the  baldness  of  the  white 
sky  was  avoided. 

Excellent  clouds  may  also  be  produced  by  the  stump  and  crayon 
on  tissue  paper,  many  of  the  effects  of  delicate  clouds  being 
capable  of  being  produced  in  this  manner.  A  certain  amount  of 
skill  is  required  in  producing  them,  but  nothing  beyond  that 
which  a  little  practice  can  give. 

We  may  add  that,  instead  of  using  this  cardboard  shade,  some 
printers  prefer  first  to  entirely  mask  the  sky  and  print  in  the 
landscape,  than  to  mask  the  landscape,  and  to  use  a  movable 


56  FEINTING    LANDSCAPES. 

screen  over  the  negative,  drawing  it  backwards  and  forwards 
during  sxpobure,  taking  the  precaution  that  the  top  of  the  sky 
receives  the  most  exposure.  The  method  of  using  the  cloud 
negativ'  ,  we  have  already  said,  will  be  found  in  the  chapter  on 
"  Combination  Printing."  Above  all  things,  the  printer  must 
bear  in  mind  that  if  there  be  any  distance  in  the  picture,  the 
sky,  when  it  meets  the  margin,  must  be  only  very  delicately 
tinted.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  a  picture  is  often  spoilt  by 
printing  in  clouds  too  heavily.  The  clouds  for  an  effect  should 
be  most  delicate,  with  no  heavy  massive  shadows  which  over- 
whelm those  of  the  landscape  itself.  We  are  only  talking  of 
the  ordinary  landscape  when  the  effect  of  storms  is  not  desired. 
It  is  not  within  the  scope  of  this  work  to  show  how  a  landscape 
and  a  sky  negative  may  be  printed  into  one  plate  to  form  a  trans- 
parency from  which  a  new  negative  may  be  made  ;  suffice  it  to 
say  that,  by  using  collodio-chloricle,  or  by  the  use  of  a  slow  dry 
plate  and  exposing  to  candle  light,  the  former  may  be  produced 
in  almost  the  same  way  that  the  print  is  produced,  and  a  nega- 
tive may  then  be  produced  in  the  camera  or  by  a  dry  plate. 


CHAPTER  XL 


PREPARING    THE    PORTRAIT    NEGATIVE. 


So  much  has  been  written  on  the  subject  of  what  is  called  "  re- 
touching "  the  negative,  that  it  would  be  a  waste  of  space  to 
enter  very  fully  into  details  here.  It  is  now  generally  admitted 
that  working  on  the  negative  is  not  only  legitimate,  but  that  it 
is  absolutely  necessary,  if  a  presentable  portrait  is  to  be  printed. 
The  only  question  is,  where  to  stop.  Professional  retouchers,  in 
too  many  cases,  do  too  much,  and  by  doing  so  they  "  overstep 
the  modesty  of  nature,"  and  turn  the  lovely  delicacy,  softness, 
and  texture  of  living  nature  into  the  appearance  of  hard  and 
cold  marble  statuary.  Everything  that  is  necessary  to  do  to  a 
portrait  negative  is  very  simple ;  it  should  be  corrected,  not  re- 
modelled. Freckles  and  accidental  spots  should  be  stopped  out, 
high  lights  may  be  strengthened,  and  shadows  softened.  We 
may  here  briefly  indicate  the  technical  methods  of  performing 
these  operations. 

Some  operators  pour  a  solution  of  gum  over  the  negative  after 
fixing,  and  when  it  is  dry  work  upon  the  surface  of  the  gum  ; 
but  it  is  better  and  safer  to  retouch  the  negative  after  it  has  been 
varnished.  The  varnish  must  be  allowed  to  become  thoroughly 


58  PBEPABING  THE  NEGATIVE. 

hard  before  any  working  upon  it  is  attempted.  A  negative  var- 
nished at  night  should  be  ready  to  be  retouched  the  next  morn- 
ing. If  very  little  has  to  be  done  to  the  negative,  it  may  be 
done  at  once  without  preparation ;  but  it  is  often  advisable  to 
prepare  the  surface  of  the  varnish  to  take  the  lead  pencil,  with 
which  the  greater  part  of  the  work  is  done.  This  is  done  with 
"  retouching  medium." 

Several  preparations  under  this  or  similar  names  are  sold  by 
stock  dealers,  all  of  them  giving,  as  far  as  we  have  tried  them, 
equally  good  results.  If  the  photographer  prefers  to  make  his  own 
medium,  he  may  do  so  by  diluting  mastic,  or  any  similar  varnish, 
such  as  copal,  with  turpentine.  Apply  the  medium  to  the  parts 
that  it  is  intended  to  work  on  with  the  finger,  and  allow  to  dry, 
which  it  does  in  a  few  minutes.  Place  the  negative  on  a  retouch- 
ing desk,  and  commence  to  fill  up  with  the  point  of  the  pencil 
all  spots  that  are  not  required,  such  as  freckles  or  uneven  marks. 
Some  operators  begin  at  the  top  of  a  face  and  work  evenly  down- 
wards. I  his  is  a  bad  plan,  and  usually  results  in  a  mechanical 
flattening  of  the  face ;  it  is  better  to  fill  in  here  and  there  as 
necessity  appears  to  arise.  The  high  lights  may  now  be 
strengthened,  taking  care  not  to  make  them  violent  or  spotty. 
The  shadows  of  the  face  will  be  found  to  require  softening,  but 
the  general  shape  of  the  shadows  must  not  be  altered,  and  in 
modifying  lines — such  as  the  lines  in  the  forehead  and  under  the 
eye — take  care  not  to  remove  them  altogether.  An  old  man 
without  wrinkles  is  an  unnatural  and  ghastly  object — the 
"  marble  brow  "  of  the  poet  should  be  left  to  literature.  The 
best  pencils  to  use  are  Faber's  Siberian  lead,  the  hard  ones  in 
preference.  HH  and  HHH  are  the  sorts  usually  employed. 
The  pencils  must  be  kept  very  finely  pointed.  To  ensure  this, 
a  piece  of  wood  covered  with  glass  cloth  should  be  kept  always 
at  hand  on  which  to  grind  the  leads  to  a  point. 

Sometimes  there  are  portions  of  a  negative  that  require  more 
filling  up  than  can  be  done  with  a  pencil ;  in  this  case  water- 


PREPAl.INQ    THE    NEGATIVE.  59 

colour  must  be  employed.  Indigo  or  Prussian  blue  is,  perhaps, 
best  for  the  purpose,  because  these  pigments  allow  a  more  appre- 
ciable or  visible  quantity  to  be  laid  on  without  becoming 
opaque  than  any  of  the  warm  colours.  Sometimes  parts — such 
as  the  arm  of  a  child — will  print  too  dark  when  in  contrast  with 
a  white  dress ;  in  this  case  it  will  be  necessary  to  paint  over  the 
part  on  the  back  of  the  negative,  or  to  cut  out  a  piece  of  papier 
min*rale  to  the  shape,  and  paste  it  over  the  dark  part,  also  on 
the  glass  side  of  the  negative. 


CHAPTEE  XII 


VIGNETTING 

OP  the  many  varieties  of  small  portraiture,  the  vignette  is,  per- 
haps, the  most  popular,  and,  when  well  done,  is  certainly  the 
most  refined  and  delicate.  Two  things  are  to  be  especially 
avoided  in  vignetting.  The  form  of  the  vignette  should  not 
follow  the  form  of  the  figure  closely,  as  it  is  too  often  made  to  do, 
and  dark  backgrounds  should  not  be  employed.  The  qualities 
to  endeavour  to  attain  are  softness  of  gradation,  and  an  arrange- 
ment of  the  forms  of  the  vignette  that  shall  throw  out  the  head 
and  figure,  and  the  resulting  print  should  somewhat  resemble  a 
sketch,  finished  if  you  like,  but  sketchy  in  effect.  Although 
the  background  should  be  light,  it  ought  not  to  be  white,  but 
of  a  tint  that  would  just  throw  up  the  white  of  a  lady's  head- 
dress. If  the  background  screen  could  be  painted  so  that  a  little 
shade  should  appear  over  the  shoulders  of  a  sitter  for  a  head,  or 
rather  darker  behind  the  lower  part  of  a  three-quarter  figure,  so 
much  the  better  would  be  the  effect.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
find  a  case  where  gradation  could  not  be  of  advantage  in  a  back- 
ground ;  however  slight,  it  conduces  especially  to  relief. 

Having  stated  what  should  be  aimed  at  in  vignettes,  we  now 
come  to  the  technical  methods  of  producing  them. 

In  many  cases  vignetting  is  considered  to  be  a  merely  mecha- 


VIGNETTING.  61 

nical  operation,  and  -very  often  looks  like  it.  Perhaps  tl^c  trade 
have  more  to  answer  for  than  the  printer,  since  the  qualities  of 
the  wares  advertised  for  the  use  of  the  vignetter  are  often  ex- 
aggerated to  such  a  degree  that  they  are  supposed  to  be  suitable 
to  any  pictures.  Yignette  glasses  are  not  so  common  as  they  used 
to  be,  but  they  certainly  are  useful  in  some  instances ;  we  almost 
think  that  the  methods  of  producing  vignetting  apparatus  which 
will  be  described  shortly,  superior  to  them.  In  case  the  printer 
should  wish,  however,  to  use  these  glasses,  here  is  a  method  by 
which  he  may  produce  them.  Have  a  piece  of  orange  glass, 
flashed  on  one  side  only,  rather  larger  than  the  size  of  the  picture 
to  be  vignetted.  Take  a  rough  print,  and  trace  round,  in  the 
proper  position  on  the  glass  with  an  ink  line,  the  point  to  which 
the  picture  should  extend.  This  should  be  marked  on  the  un- 
flashed  surface  of  the  glass — that  is,  the  surface  on  which  the  glass 
is  uncoloured.  Place  the  plate  so  marked  on  a  white  surface, 
flashed  side  uppermost,  and  make  a  solution  of  hydrofluoric 
acid  and  water,  1  part  of  the  former  to  3  of  the  latter,  in  a  gutta- 
percha  dish  or  bottle.*  Make  a  pad  of  flannel  and  cotton  wool 
at  the  end  of  a  stick,  about  the  size  of  a  large  nut,  and  drop 
this  into  the  solution.  Dab  this  on  the  coloured  surface  of  the 
glass  in  the  central  portions  where  the  print  is  to  be  completely 
printed  in,  gradually  working  out  to  the  inked  line.  Always 
work  from  the  centre  to  the  edges,  and  dilute  the  acid  with  a 
little  water  as  it  approaches  the  margins.  By  degrees  the 
flashing  will  be  dissolved  away  in  the  centre,  and,  if  properly 
performed,  the  colour  will  gradually  be  eaten  away,  till  the 
glass  is  colourless  in  the  centre,  and  keeping  its  full  shade  of 
orange  at  the  ink  lines.  The  glass  is  then  washed,  and  is  ready 
for  use. 


*  Hydrofluoric  acid  is  always  supplied  by  chemists  in  gutta-percha 
bottles,  as  it  attacks  glass.  A  spare  gutta-percha  bottle  can  easily  be  pro* 
cured. 


62  YIGNE1TING. 

The  most  popular  plan  of  vignetting  is  with  cotton-wool. 
"We  believe  that  the  greater  part  of  the  vignetting  done  in  Eng- 
land is  by  this  clumsy,  costly,  and  difficult  method.  It  requires 
more  time  and  attention  than  any  other  way  of  producing  the 
same  results.  Its  advantages  are,  that  it  is  more  "  elastic,"  and 
allows  the  operator  more  scope  for  attention  than  other  methods. 
In  the  hands  of  a  person  who  has  very  great  skill,  taste,  and 
patience,  it  is  undoubtedly  most  useful ;  but  when  used  by  any- 
thing lower  than  the  highest  skill,  the  results  are  almost  always 
hard  and  inartistic.  The  operation  is  thus  performed.  A  hole 
is  cut  in  apiece  of  cardboard,  which  is  placed  over  the  negative. 
Under  the  edges  of  the  cardboard  is  placed  cotton-wool,  which 
is  lightly  pulled  out,  so  as  to  slightly  shade  the  vignette,  and 
produce  the  vignetting  gradation. 

The  next  methods  of  vignetting  are  dependent  on  simple  laws 
of  optics.  Suppose  you  cut  a  round  hole  in  a  card,  say,  half -inch 
in  diameter,  and  so  arrange  it  that  all  the  light  getting  to  a  sensi- 
tive paper  comes  through  this  hole,  and  that  the  card  is  for  our 
experiment  placed  half-an-inch  from  the  paper.  Now  place  the 
hole  so  as  to  face  the  sky,  but  so  as  the  sun  has  no  direct  rays 
falling  through  the  hole.  It  will  be  found  that  the  greatest 
darkening  will  not  occupy  a  space  exactly  opposite  the  hole,  but 
be  away  from  the  side  on  which  the  light  is  brightest.  The  dark 
round  patch  will  be  shaded  gradually  off  till  a  line  is  reached 
where,  practically,  the  light  has  no  effect — that  is,  if  the  surf  ace 
of  the  card  next  the  paper  be  blackened.  It  will  be  noted,  how- 
ever, that  the  shading  is  not  equal  on  both  sides,  but  that  the 
gradation  is  most  extended  away  from  the  side  on  which  the  light 
is  brightest.  A  good  example  of  what  is  meant  will  be  to  try  the 
experiment  of  placing  the  paper  and  card  flat  on  the  ground  in  the 
angle  between  two  walls,  both  of  which  are  in  shadow.  It  will 
be  seen  that  the  brightest  gradation  takes  place  in  the  direction 
exactly  away  from  the  angle  of  the  walls.  Next  repeat  the  expe- 
riment, making  the  hole  point  to  the  sky,  which  is  equally  illumi- 


YIGNETTING.  63 

nated  and  pointing  well  away  from  the  sun.  It  will  be  found  that 
the  gradations  are  equal,  and  the  greatest  darkening  exactly 
opposite  the  hole.  Raise  the  card  next  to  the  height  of  one  inch,  ^ 
and  the  gradations  will  be  found  to  be  more  extended  and  softer. 
The  reason  of  this  can  be  well  understood  by  a  glance  at  the 
figures.  In  both,  suppose  A  B  to  represent  the  section  of  the  card, 


UNIVERSITY 

£  •> 


Fig.  21. 

and  C  D  the  hole  in  it.  and  the  dotted  circle  the  sky,  and  E  F  the 
paper.    Take  the  points  a,  fl,  and  e  on  the  paper,  and  let  us  in  the 


JFty.22. 

three  instances  see  what  relative  illumination  they  will  receive. 
a  is  opposite  the  hole,  and  receives  the  light  from  a  circle  of  sky 
of  which  d  e  is  diameter,  and  I  from  an  ellipse  of  which  h  k  is 
one  diameter,  and  e  from  an  ellipse  of  which  f  g  is  one  diameter. 
In  the  first  case,  where  the  card  is  £  inch  from  the  paper,  h  k  is 
about  one-fifth  of  de,  and gf  about  one-third  of  dft  and  since  the 


64  VKWE1TIXG. 

ellipses  vary  as  their  two  diameters  multiplied  together,  the  point 
I  would  receive  only  one-twenty-fifth  the  light  that  a  received, 
and  c  ahout  one-ninth. 

In  fig.  21  the  card  is  raised  one  inch  from  the  paper,  and  here 
/  g  is  about  three-quarters  of  d  e,  and  h  k  ahout  two-fifths ; 
therefore,  in  this  case,  the  light  on  B  would  he  only  four 
twenty-fifths,  or  about  one-sixth  of  that  acting  on  a,  and  about 
nine-sixteenths  or  one-half  nearly  on  c.  It  is  thus  evident  that 
the  further  away  the  card  is,  the  more  extended  will  be  the 
gradations.  Again,  suppose,  in  the  last  figure,  the  bit  of  sky  at 
g  f  was  twice  as  bright  as  at  d  e,  then  the  amount  of  light  act- 
ing on  c  would  be  the  same  as  that  acting  on  a.  It  will  thus 
be  seen  how  important  it  is  for  proper  gradation  that  the  hole  in 
the  card  should  be  exposed  to  an  equally  illuminated  sky,  or  that 
some  artifice  should  be  employed  to  render  the  illumination  equal, 
If  we  paste  a  bit  of  tissue  paper  over  C  D,  this  is  accomplished, 
for  then  it  becomes  the  source  of  illumination,  and  it  is  illumi- 
nated equally  all  over,  since  on  every  part  it  receives  the  light  of 
the  whole  sky ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  if  it  is  transparent  to 
diffused'  light,  and  is  never  the  case  if  it  is  exposed  to  direct 
sunlight,  since  a  shadow  of  the  hole  is  always  cast  on  the  paper 
beneath.  If  you  choose  to  put  another  piece  of  tissue  paper, 
(say)  one  inch  above  the  hole,  and  extending  over  the  whole 
length  of  the  card,  this  difficulty  is  got  rid  of,  and  this  last  piece 
of  tissue  paper  illuminates  that  pasted  over  the  hole  C  D,  and  the 
gradations  will  then  be  nearly  perfect. 

Now  to  apply  the  above  to  forming  a  vignetting  block. 

Suppose  we  have  a  one-inch  head  to  vignette  and  to  show  the 
shoulders  and  chest,  to  be  of  the  size  of  a  carte-de-visite,  that  the 
background  is  about  a  half-tone  between  black  and  white,  and 
that  but  a  trace  of  it  shall  appear  above  the  head.  To  make  a 
good  vignette,  the  graduation  from  black  to  perfect  white  should 
lie  within  a  limit  of  half  an  inch  for  a  carte  size  portrait.  The 
question  then  arises  at  what  distance  from  the  plate  should  a 


YIGNKTTING. 


65 


vignetting  card  be  cut  to  help  this  object,  and  what  shape  should 
be  made  the  hole  in  the  card.  We  tak«  it  that  one-fifth  of  the 
light  necessary  to  produce  a  full  black  tone  would  hardly  pro- 
duce any  effect  on  the  sensitised  paper ;  knowing  this  and  the  sizo 
of  the  aperture,  we  can  calculate  exactly  what  height  the  card 
could  be  raised.  Take  the  breadth  between  the  shoulders  that 
is  to  be  fully  printed  as  1£  inches,  then  by  constructing  a  figure 
similar  to  figures  18  or  ly  we  shall  find  that  the  necessary  height 
is  about  one-third  of  an  inch.* 

By  judiciously  cutting  out  an  aperture  in  the  card  and  vignet- 
ting, defects  in  a  background  may  often  be  entirely  eliminated 
from  the  print.  Proceed  in  this  way  :  Take  a  print  of  the  portrait, 
and  cut  out  the  figure  in  such  a.way  as  to  get  rid  of  the  defective 
background,  and  then  place  this  on  a  piece  of  thick  card  (we 
prefer  a  thick  card,  since  it  will  not  sag  easily,  and  thus  alter  the 
gradation),  and  cut  out  an  aperature  corresponding  to  it.  The 
outsides  of  most  carte-de-visite  frames  are  raised  from  the  glass 
about  one-third  of  an  inch ;  place  the  card  on  the  front  so  that  the 


Fig.  23. 


aperture  corresponds  to  the  figure  on  the  negative,  and  tack  it 
on  to  the  frame.     The   dotted  lines  (fig.  23)  show  the   card 


•  This  calculation  is  near  enough  for  our  purpose.     There  are  certain 
niceties  which  might  be  introduced,  such  as  the  "  critical  angle  of  the  glass." 


f.6 


VIGNETTING. 


fastened  on  to  the  frame,  and  the  opening  left.  This  latter 
may  be  covered  with  tissue  paper,  and  the  frame  placed  in  diffused 
light  from  the  sky.  In  some  cases  it  may  he  necessary  to  use  a 
larger  printing  frame  than  the  ordinary  carte  frame,  in  which  case 
the  operator  should  be  able  to  make  a  vignetting  apparatus  raised 
at  a  proper  heigth  from  the  glass.  Suppose  it  is  required  to  raise 
the  opening  half  an  inch  above  the  glass,  and  that  the  card  is 
4*  by  3*. 

Take  the  card  and  rule  rectangles  as  shown  (fig.  24),  the  inner 


1 iff.  24. 

one  being  4£  by  3£  inches,  the  next  one  £  an  inch  outside  that, 
and  the  third  J  an  inch  outside  that  again.  Cut  out  the  outer 
rectangle  entirely,  so  that  we  have  a  piece  of  card  of  the  size 
ABCD.  Take  a  needle  point,  and  prick  through  the  card  at  the 
points  EFGH  and  join  these  points  at  the  back  of  the  card  by 
lines.  Now  take  a  sharp  penknife,  and,  having  laid  a  flat  edge 
along,  cut  the  card  half  through  its  thickness  along  KL,  LM, 
MN,  and  NK.  Turn  the  card  over,  and  cut  along  the  lines 
corresponding  to  EH,  HG,  GE,  and  FE,  also  half  way  through 
the  thickness  of  the  card.  Turn  the  card  over  once  more,  and 


xrrso. 


67 


cut  out  the  shaded  pieces  at  the  corners.     Now  bend  the  card 
along  the  cuts,  and  a  raised  block  will  result  of  this  shape.     The 


Fig.  2  . 

corners  are  held  together  by  pieces  of  gummed  or  albumenized 
paper,  and  the  block  is  ready  for  an  aperture  to  be  cut  in  it 
according  to  the  portrait  to  be  printed.  f  Wooden  grooves  may 
be  glued  along  the  top  of  the  vignetting  frame,  into  which  cards 
containing  other  apertures  can  be  slipped.* 

The  most  practical  method  of  vignetting,  a  modification  of  the 
above,  and  the  one  we  always  prefer  in  our  own  practice,  is  as 
follows  : — 

Take  a  piece  of  soft  wood,  half  an  inch  thick  for  a  cabinet 
size — a  thinner  piece  should  be  selected  for  a  smaller  picture — 
of  a  larger  dimension  than  the  negative  ;  in  the  centre  of  this 
cut  a  hole  of  the  shnpe  of,  but  much  smaller  than,  the  desired 
vignette.  One  side  of  the  hole  should  be  very  much  bevelled 
away,  as  represented  in  this  section  (fig.  26).  Place  this  block 


on  the  glass  of  the  printing-frame,  bevelled  side  under,  the  hole 

*  The  boxes  in  which  children's  puzzles  are  often  packed  will  gire  an  idea 
of  what  is  meant. 


68  VIGNETTING. 

being  exactly  over  the  part  of  the  negative  from  which  the  vig- 
nette is  to  be  printed.  The  hole  must  now  be  covered  with 
tissue  paper  or  ground  glass,  and  the  frame  placed  flat  on  a  table 
to  print.  The  size  of  the  hole  in  relation  to  the  size  of  the  vig- 
nette will  be  easily  ascertained  by  a  little  experience  without  the 
labour  of  elaborate  calculations.  On  dull  days  the  tissue  paper 
or  ground  glass  may  be  omitted. 

This  method  is  very  simple  and  effective.  A  quantity  of  vig- 
netting blocks  of  various  sizes  and  shapes  could  be  made  by  a 
carpenter,  or  by  the  printer,  and  should  be  always  at  hand. 

A  vignetting  block  should  never  be  less  than  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  away  from  the  glass,  otherwise  the  gradations  will  be  too 
abrupt. 


CHAPTEE  XIIL 

ARTISTIC  METHODS  OF  PRINTING  THE  PORTRAIT. 

HAVING  discribed  in  the  last  chapter  the  various  mechanical 
arrangements  by  which  a  simple  vignette  is  produced,  we  will 
now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  how  that  and  other  forms 
of  printing  can  be  turned  to  the  most  artistic  account  in  por- 
traiture. 

The  idea  that  printing  is  a  mere  mechanical  operation  was 
exploded  long  ago.  It  is  now  recognized  that  the  final  result 
owes  a  good  deal  of  its  artistic  effect  to  the  way  in  which  the 
negative  is  dealt  with  after  it  is  varnished,  and  especially  to 
its  treatment  by  the  printer.  There  are  many  varieties  of  vig- 
nettes, aud  the  method  is 'useful  in  various  ways. 

Plain  Vignettes. — The  usual  vignetted  portrait  is  that  which 
represents  a  good-sized  head  and  shoulders  in  the  space  allotted 
to  the  picture.  For  a  carte-de-visite,  a  head  measuring  about 
1  ^  inches  from  the  top  of  the  head  to  the  chin  is  a  good  pro- 
portion. Larger  sizes  are  often  made,  but  they  look  coarse  and 
vulgar,  as  if  the  photographer  had  tried  how  much  quantity  he 
could  give  for  the  money,  regardless  of  quality  ;  and  even  if  the 
quality  is  good,  the  vulgar  effect  is  still  there.  For  a  cabinet 
size  a  head  of  If  or  1$  inches  is  quite  large  enough.  A  very 


70  PBINTING   THE   POUT  KATE. 

pretty  style  is  that  in  which  the  gradation  is  carried  out  so 
gradually  as  only  to  end  with  the  edge  of  the  paper. 

Three-quarter  Length  Vignettes. — A  three-quarter  length 
figure  of  a  lady,  either  standing  or  sitting,  makes  a  pretty  pic- 
ture ;.  for  gentlemen,  a  three-quarter  vignette  is  not  so  good, 
although  it  is  admissible.  It  is  difficult  to  make  the  legs  look 
anything  but  awkward  when  they  are  vignetted  into  empty 
space  at  the  knee.  For  three-quarter  vignettes  a  light,  sketchy 
landscape  background  may  be  used  with  effect. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  what  may  be  called  "  fancy 
printing,"  in  which  the  vignette  takes  a  conspicuous  part.  The 
first  style  that  we  will  consider  is  that  of 

Vignettes  on  a  Tinted  Ground. — Print  a  vignette  in  the  usual 
way.  Take  it  out  of  the  frame,  and  place  it  on  a  board  covered 
with  velvet  or  flannel,  to  prevent  the  paper  shifting.  Cover  the 
print  with  glass,  and  place  over  the  printed  part  a  piece  of  black 
paper  roughly  torn  to  the  shape,  and  rather  smaller  than  the 
vignette.  Place  the  whole  in  the  light  until  the  white  margin 
is  slightly  tinted,  or  "  blushed,"  as  it  sometimes  called.  The 
edges  of  the  black  mask  should  be  slightly  turned  up  or  kept 
moving  to  prevent  the  junction  of  the  tinting  and  the  vignette 
being  visible. 

The  above  method  represents  a  vignetted  head  on  smooth  grey 
paper,  and  is  useful  to  show  up  the  high  lights  on  the  face ;  but 
there  is  a  modification  of  this  effect,  in  which  the  appearance 
of  a  sketch  on  rough  drawing-paper  is  produced. 

Vignettes  o>i  Rough  Drawing-paper. — If,  instead  of  placing  a 
piece  of  plain  glass  over  the  masked  print,  a  thin  negative  of 
some  diaper  or  pattern  had  been  used,  the  design  could  have 
been  printed  on  the  paper  instead  of  the  even  tint.  A  very 
good  negative  for  this  purpose  is  made  as  follows : — Obtain  a 


PRINTING    THE    PORTRAIT.  71 

sheet  of  the  roughest  drawing-paper,  take  a  camel-hair  brush 
dipped  in  thin  sepia,  and  brush  it  evenly  over  the  paper ;  the 
colour  will  fall  into  the  depressions  of  the  paper,  and  make  the 
roughness  still  more  visible.  This  should  now  be  placed  where 
a  side  light  falls  upon  it,  and  photographed.  A  very  thin  nega- 
tive is  all  that  is  required.  This  negative  should  be  used  in 
place  of  the  plain  glass,  and,  if  not  printed  too  dark,  the  effect 
of  the  delicate  vignette  inside  the  rough  tint  is  very  pleasing. 
It  is  better  when  using  negatives  for  this  purpose  to  place  them 
in  pressure-frames,  instead  of  merely  placing  them  or  the  print  on 
the  velvet  board,  to  print,  or  perfect  contact  may  not  be  obtained. 

Medallions. — Medallions  of  oval  and  other  forms  are  now  a 
good  deal  used  for  small  portraits.  These  are  simply  produced 
by  gumming  a  mask,  made  of  black  or  yellow  paper,  with  an 
oval  or  other-shaped  aperture,  on  to  the  negative,  the  mask  pre- 
serving the  part  it  covers  white.  These  masks  can  be  bought 
from  the  dealers  cheaper  and  better  than  they  can  be  made. 
Eccentric  shapes  are,  usually,  in  bad  taste ;  the  oval  and  dome 
are  quite  sufficient  for  all  purposes.  If,  instead  of  leaving  the 
outside  of  the  print — that  protected  by  the  mask — white,  it 
could  be  tinted,  the  lights  in  the  picture  would  have  greater 
value,  and  the  effect  be  improved..  To  do  this,  the  printed  part 
should  be  covered  with  a  black -paper  disc  corresponding  with 
the  mask  used  in  printing,  the  print  covered  with  glass,  and 
exposed  to  the  light  until  printed  the  required  depth.  In  per- 
forming this  operation  it  will  be  found  convenient  to  gum  the 
disc  to  the  covering- glass.  If  texture  could  be  added  to  this 
tinted  margin^  then  another  element  of  beauty  would  be  added. 
This  may  be  done  in  a  similar  manner  to  that  described  for 
vignettes,  by  using  a  negative  made  from  rough  drawing-paper ; 
but,  in  this  case,  there  is  opportunity  for  a  greater  choice  of 
objects  from  which  to  make  the  tinting  negative,  such  as  grained 
leather,  marble  of  various  kinds,  paper-hangings — when  suitable 


72  PRINT  NG    THE   POUPATT. 

patterns  can  be  obtained — and  from  the  borders  of  old  prints.  In 
this,  as  in  many  other  things  connected  with  photography,  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  room  for  bad  taste,  which  the  photographer  must 
try  to  avoid.  He  must  remember  that  all  these  surrounding 
designs  should  assist  the  portrait,  and  not  distract  the  attention 
from  it. 

Vignettes  m  Ornaniental  Borders. — The  writer  has  lately  pro- 
duced some  effects  that  have  given  much  pleasure  by  using 
designs  specially  dra  vn  for  the  purpose.  The  designs  principally 
consist  of  an  oval  in  the  centre  for  the  portrait,  and  a  tablet 
underneath,  on  which  the  original  of  the  portrait  may  sign  his 
name.  These  forms  are  surrounded  by  flowers  and  other  objects 
conventionally  treated.  The  spaces  for  the  portrait  and  name 
should  be  stopped  out  with  black  varnish,  so  as  to  print  white. 
The  easiest  way  to  use  these  ornamental  border  negatives  is  as 
follows  : — First  print  the  border  negative ;  you  will  then  have  a 
print  with  a  white  oval  space  in  the  centre.  Place  this  print  on 
the  portrait  negative,  taking  care  that  it  occupies  the  proper 
position  in  the  oval.  This  is  easily  ascertained  by  holding  the 
print  and  negative  up  to  the  light.  It  should  then  be  placed  in 
the  frame  and  printed,  care  being  taken  that  the  vignetted  grada- 
tion does  not  spread  beyond  its  limits  over  the  border. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  variety  to  be  got  out  of  the  combina- 
tion of  the  mask  and  vignette.  Here  is  one  of  them. 

Combination  of  Medallion  and  Vignette. — Vignette  a  head  into 
the  centre  of  the  paper ;  when  this  is  done,  place  over  it  a  black 
paper  oval  disc,  taking  care  that  the  head  comes  in  the  centre 
under  the  mask.  Place  a  piece  of  glass  over  the  whole,  and 
print.  When  the  disc  is  removed,  the  print  will  represent  a 
vignette  surrounded  by  a  dark  oval.  Many  variations  may  bo 
made  of  this  form  of  picture,  and  there  is  much  scope  for  skill 
and  taste. 


PRINTING   THE   PORTRAIT.  73 

Any  of  the  tinting  negatives  above  described  may  be  used,  or 
they  can  be  made  Irom  designs  drawn  on  paper  as  we  have  already 
stated,  or  from  natural  objects.  But  if  our  reader  has  followed 
us  clearly  thus  far,  he  is  now  in  a  position  to  form  combinations 
for  himself.  This  we  recommend  him  to  do,  for  there  is  an 
additional  beauty  in  anything  in  art  that  indicates  a  distinctive 
style  or  shows  thought  and  originality.  There  is  too  much 
tendency  in  portraitists  to  run  in  grooves,  which  the  universal 
prevalence  of  the  two  styles,  card  and  cabinet,  help  to  promote. 
But  we  must  caution  the  young  photographer  against  the  mistake 
of  making  changes  for  the  sake  of  change.  The  "  loud,"  and 
the  bizarre,  may  attract  foolish  people,  but  it  is  only  the  beau- 
tiful that  will  secure  the  attention  of  the  cultivated  and 
refined. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

COMBINATION    PRINTING. 

THE  scope  of  photography  is  wider  than  those  who  have  only 
taken  a  simple  portrait  or  landscape  suppose.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  design  a  group  that  could  not  have  been  reproduced 
from  life  by  the  means  our  art  places  at  our  disposal.  We  do 
not  mean  to  assert  that  such  subjects  as  Michael  Angelo's  Last 
Judgment,  or  Raphael's  Transfiguration,  for  instance,  have  ever 
heen  done  in  photography ;  but  it  is  not  so  much  the  fault  of 
the  art,  as  of  the  artists,  that  very  elaborate  pictures  have  not  been 
successfully  attempted.  It  has  not  been  the  failing  of  the  mate- 
rials, unpin  stic  as  they  are  when  compared  with  paint  and  pencils ; 
it  has  been  the  absence  of  the  requisite  amount  of  skill  in  the 
photographer  in  the  use  of  them,  that  will  account  for  the  dearth 
of  great  works  in  photography.  The  means  by  which  these  pic- 
tures could  have  been  accomplished  is  Combination  Printing,  a 
method  which  enables  the  photographer  to  represent  objects  in 
different  planes  in  proper  focus,  to  keep  the  true  atmospheric 
and  linear  relation  of  varying  distances,  and  by  which  a  picture 
can  be  divided  into  separate  portions  for  execution,  the  parts  to 
be  afterwards  printed  together  on  one  paper,  thus  enabling  the 
operator  to  devote  all  his  attention  to  a  single  figure  or  sub-group 
at  a  time,  so  that  if  any  part  be  imperfect,  from  any  cause,  it 
can  be  substituted  by  another  without  the  loss  of  the  whole 


COMBINATION   PRINTING.  75 

picture,  as  would  be  the  case  if  taken  at  one  operation.  By  thus 
devoting  the  attention  to  individual  parts,  independently  of  the 
others,  much  greater  perfection  can  he  obtained  in  details,  such 
as  the  arrangement  of  draperies,  the  refinement  of  pose,  and 
expression. 

The  most  simple  form  of  combination  printing,  and  the  one 
most  easy  of  accomplishment  and  most  in  use  by  photographers, 
is  that  by  which  a  natural  sky  is  added  to  a  landscape.  It  is 
well-known  to  all  photographers  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
obtain  a  good  and  suitable  sky  to  a  landscape  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances. Natural  skies  are  occasionally  seen  in  stereoscopic 
slides  and  very  small  views  ;  but  I  am  now  writing  of  pictures, 
and  not  of  toys.  It  rarely  happens  that  a  sky  quitej  suitable  to 
the  landscape  occurs  in  the  right  place  at  the  timefit  is  taken, 
and,  if  it  did,  the  exposure  necessary  for  the  view  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  quite  obliterate  the  sky;  an-1  if  this  difficulty  were  ob- 
viated by  any  of  the  s'in-shades,  cloud-stops,  or  other  inefficient 
dodges  occasionally  proposed,  the  movement  of  the  clouds  during 
the  few  seconds  necessary  for  the  landscape  would  quite  alter 
the  forms  and  light  and  shade,  making  what  should  be  the  sky— 
often  sharp  and  crisp  in  effect — a  mere  smudge,  without  charac- 
ter or  form.  All  these  difficulties  are  got  over  by  combination 
printing,  the  only  objections  being  that  a  little  more  care  and 
trouble  are  required,  and  some  thought  and  knowledge  demanded. 
The  latter  should  be  considered  an  advantage,  for  photographs,  of 
a  kind,  are  already  too  easy  to  produce.  Of  course,  when  a 
landscape  is  taken  with  a  blank  sky,  and  that  blank  is  filled  up 
with  clouds  from  another  negative,  the  result  will  depend,  to  a 
very  great  degree,  upon  the  art  knowledge  of  the  photographer 
in  selecting  a  suitable  sky,  as  well  us  upon  his  skill  in  over- 
coming the  mechanical  difficulties  of  the  printing.  It  is  not 
necessary  here  to  enter  into  a  description  of  the  art  aspect  of 
the  matter,  as  that  has  often  been  discussed ;  so  we  will  confine 
ourselves  to  the  mechanical  details. 


76  COMBINATION    PRINTED. 

The  landscape  negative  must  have  a  dense  sky,  or,  if  it  be 
weak,  or  have  any  defects,  it  must  be  stopped  out  with  black 
varnish.  In  this  case,  it  is  hotter  to  apply  the  varnish  to  the 
back  of  the  glass ;  by  this  means  a  softer  edge  is  produced  in 
printing  than  if  painted  on  the  varnished  surface.  With  some 
subjects,  such  as  those  that  have  a  tolerably  level  horizon,  it  is 
sufficient  to  cover  over  part  of  the  sky  while  printing,  leaving 
that  part  near  the  horizon  gradated  from  the  horizon  into  white. 

It  may  here  be  remarked  that  in  applying  black  varnish  to  the 
back  of  a  negative,  occasions  will  often  be  found  where  a  softened 
or  vignetted  edge  is  required  for  joining,  where  a  vignette  glass 
or  cotton  wool  cannot  be  applied ;  in  such  cases  the  edg?  of  the 
varnish  may  be  softened  off  by  dabbing  slightly,  before  it  is 
set,  with  the  finger,  or,  if  a  broader  and  more  delicately  gradated 
edge  be  required,  a  dabber  made  with  wash-leather  may  be  em- 
ployed with  great  effect. 

When  an  impression  is  taken,  the  place  where  the  sky  ought 
to  bt  will,  of  course,  be  plain  white  paper ;  a  negative  of  clouds 
is  then  placed  in  the  printing-frame,  and  the  landscape  is  laid 
down  on  it,  so  arranged  that  the  sky  will  print  on  to  the  white 
paper  in  its  proper  place;  the  frame  is  then  exposed  to  the 
light,  and  the  landscape  part  of  the  picture  is  covered  up  with 
a  mask  edged  with  cotton  wool.  The  sky  is  vignetted  into  the 
landscape,  and  it  will  be  found  that  the  slight  lapping  over  of 
the  vignetted  edge  of  the  sky  negative  will  not  be  noticed  in  the 
finished  print.  There  is  another  way  of  vignetting  the  sky  into 
the  landscape,  which  is,  perhaps,  better  and  more  convenient. 
Instead  of  the  mask  edged  with  cotton  wool,  which  requires 
moving  occasionally,  a  curved  piece  of  zinc 
or  cardboard  is  used.  Here  is  a  section  of 

the  arrangement.     The  straight  line  repre-  

sents  the  sky  negative,  and  the  part  where 

it  joins  the  landscape  is  partly  covered  with  the  curved  shade. 

Skies  so  treated  must  not,  of  course,  be  printed  in  sunlight. 


COMBINATION    P    INTIXG.  77 

It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  take  a  panoramic  view.  This  is 
usually  done,  when  the  pnnta^copic  camera  is  not  employed,  by 
mounting  two  prints  together,  so  that  the  objects  in  the  lancl- 
ecipc  shall  coincide  ;  but  this  is  an  awkward  method  of  doing 
what  could  be  much  better  accomplished  by  combination  print- 
ing. The  joining  of  the  two  prints  is  always  disagreeably 
visible,  and  quite  spoils  the  effect,  To  print  the  two  halves  of  a 
landscape,  taken  on  two  plates,  together,  the  following  precau- 
tions must  be  observed :  both  negatives  must  be  taken  before 
the  camera-stand  is  moved,  the  camera,  which  must  be  quite 
horizontal,  pointing  to  one  half  of  the  scene  for  the  first  negative, 
and  then  turned  to  the  remaining  half  of  the  view  for  the  second 
negative.  The  two  negatives  should  be  obtained  under  exactly 
the  same  conditions  of  light,  or  they  will  not  match ;  they  should 
also  be  so  taken  that  a  margin  of  an  inch  and  a-half  or  two  inches 
is  allowed  to  overlap  each  other ;  that  is  to  say,  about  two  inches 
of  each  negative  must  contain  the  same  or  centre  portion  of  the 
scene.  It  is  advisable,  also,  that  they  should  be  of  thepsame 
density;  but  this  is  not  of  very  great  consequence,  because  any 
slight  discrepancy  in  this  respect  can  be  allowed  for  in  printing. 
In  printing  vignettes  with  cotton  wool,  or  a  straight-edged 
vignette  glass,  the  edge  of  the  left-hand  negative  on  the  side 
that  is  to  join  the  other,  taking  care  to  cover  up  the  part  of  the 
paper  that  will  be  required  for  the  companion  negative ;  when 
sufficiently  printed,  take  the  print  out  of  the  frame,  and  substi- 
tute the  right-hand  negative ;  lay  down  the  print  so  that  it 
exactly  falls  on  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  first  part  printed 
(this  will  be  found  less  difficult,  after  a  little  practice,  than  it 
appears),  and  expose  to  the  light,  vignetting  the  edge  of  this 
negative,  also,  so  that  the  vignetted  part  exactly  falls  on  the 
softened  edge  of  the  impression  already  done.  If  great  care  be 
taken  to  print  both  plates  exactly  alike  in  depth,  it  will  be  im- 
possible to  discover  the  join  in  the  finished  print.  If  thought 
necessary,  a  sky  may  be  added,  as  before  described,  or  it  may  be 


78  COMBINATION   PBINTING. 

gradated  in  the  light,  allowing  the  horizon  to  he  lighter  than 
the  upper  part  of  the  sky. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  use  to  which  combination  printing  is  now- 
put  is  in  the  production  of  portraits  with  natural  landscape 
backgrounds.  Many  beautiful  pictures,  chiefly  cabinets  and 
card,  have  been  done  in  this  way  by  several  photographers. 
The  easiest  kind  of  figure  for  a  first  attempt  would  be  a  three- 
quarter  length  of  a  lady,  because  you  would  then  get  rid  of  the 
foreground,  and  have  to  confine  your  attention  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  figure  and  the  distance.  Pictures  of  this  kind  have  a  very 
pleasing  effect.  In  the  figure  negative,  everything  should  be 
stopped  out,  with  the  exception  of  the  figure,  with  black  varnish  ; 
this  should  be  done  on  the  back  of  the  glass  when  practicable, 
which  produces  a  softer  join ;  but  for  delicate  parts — such  as 
down  the  face — where  the  joins  must  be  very  close,  and  do  not 
admit  of  anything  approaching  to  vignetting,  the  varnish  must 
be  applied  on  the  front.  A  much  better  effect  than  painting  out 
the  background  of  the  figure  negative  is  obtained  by  taking  the 
figure  with  a  white  or  very  light  screen  behind  it ;  this  plan 
allow.s  sufficient  light  to  pass  through  the  background  to  give  an 
agreeable  atmospheric  tint  to  the  distant  landscape ;  and  stopping 
out  should  only  be  resorted  to  when  the  background  is  too  dark, 
or  when  stains  or  blemishes  occur,  that  would  injure  the  effect. 
An  impression  must  now  be  taken  which  is  not  to  be  toned  or 
fixed.  Cut  out  the  figure,  and  lay  it,  face  downwards,  on  the 
landscape  negative  in  the  position  you  wish  it  to  occupy  in  the 
finished  print.  It  may  be  fixed  in  its  position  by  gumming  the 
corners  near  the  lower  edge  of  the  plate.  It  is  now  ready  for 
printing.  It  is  usually  found  most  convenient  to  print  the 
figure  negative  first.  "When  this  has  been  done,  the  print  must 
he  laid  down  on  the  landscape  negative  so  that  the  figure  exactly 
covers  the  place  prepared  for  it  by  the  cut-out  mask.  When 
printed,  the  picture  should  be  carefully  examined,  to  see  if  the 
joins  may  be  improved  or  made  less  visible.  It  will  be  found 


COMBINATION 


79 


that,  in  many  places,  the  effect  can  be  improved  and  the  junc- 
tions made  more  perfect,  especially  when  a  light  comes  against  a 
dark  —  such  as  a  distant  landscape  against  the  dark  part  of  a 
dress  —  by  tearing  away  the  edge  of  the  mask  covering  the  dark, 
and  supplying  its  place  by  touches  of  black  varnish  at  the  b.u;k 
of  the  negative;  this,  in  printing,  will  cause  the  line  to  be  less 
defined,  and  the  edges  to  soften  into  each  other.  If  the  back- 
ground of  the  figure  negative  has  been  painted  out,  the  sky  will 
be  represented  by  white  paper  ;  and  as  white  paper  skies  nre 
neither  natural  nor  pleasing,  it  will  be  advisable  to  sun  it  down, 

If  a  full-length  figure  be  desired,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
photograph  the  ground  with  the  figure,  as  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  make  the  shadow  of  a  figure  match  the  ground  on  which  it 
stands  in  any  other  way.  This  may  be  done  either  out  of  doors 
or  in  the  studio.  The  figure  taken  out  of  doors  would,  perhaps, 
to  the  critical  eye,  have  the  most  natural  effect,  but  this  can- 
not always  be  done,  neither  can  it  be,  in  many  respects,  done  so 
well.  The  light  is  more  unmanageable  out  of  doors,  and  the 
difficulty  arising  from  the  effect  of  wind  on  the  dress  is  very 
serious.  A  slip  of  natural  foreground  is  easily  made  up  in  the 
studio  ;  the  error  to  be  avoided  is  the  making  too  much  of  it. 
The  simpler  a  foreground  is  in  this  case,  the  better  will  be  the 
effect. 

The  composition  of  a  group  should  next  engage  the  student's 
attention.  In  making  a  photograph  of  a  large  group,  as  many 
figures  as  possible  should  be  obtained  in  each  negative,  and  the 
position  of  the  joins  so  contrived  that  they  shall  come  in  places 
where  they  shall  be  least  noticed,  if  seen  at  all.  It  will  be  found 
convenient  to  make  a  sketch  in  pencil  or  charcoal  of  the  com- 
position before  the  photograph  is  commenced.  The  technical 
working  out  of  a  large  group  is  the  same  as  for  a  single  figure  ; 
it  is,  therefore,  not  necessary  to  repeat  the  details  ;  but  we  gire 
a  reduced  copy,  as  a  frontispiece  to  this  Tolume,  of  a  large  com- 
bination picture,  entitled  "  When  the  Day's  Work  is  Done,  ' 


COMBINATION   PRINTING. 

by  Mr.  F.  P.  Robinson,  a  description  of  the  progress  and 
planning  of  which  may  be  of  use  to  the  student. 

A  small  rough  sketch  was  first  made  of  the  idea,  irrespective 
of  any  considerations  of  the  possibility  of  its  being  carried  out. 
Other  small  sketches  were  then  made,  modifying  the  subject  to 
suit  the  figures  available  as  models,  and  the  accessories  acces- 
sible without  very  much  going  out  of  the  way  to  find  them. 
From  these  rough  sketches  a  more  elaborate  sketch  of  the  com- 
position, pretty  much  as  it  stands,  and  of  the  same  size,  32  by  22 
inches,  was  made,  the  arrangement  being  divided  so  that  the 
different  portions  may  come  on -23  by  18  plates,  and  that  the 
junctions  may  come  in  unimportant  plates,  easy  to  join,  but  not 
easy  to  be  detected  afterwards.  The  separate  negatives  were 
then  taken.  The  picture  is  divided  as  follows  : — 

The  first  negatives  taken  were  the  two  of  which  the  back- 
ground is  composed.  The  division  runs  down  the  centre,  where 
the  light  wall  is  relieved  by  the  dark  beyond  it.  These  two 
negatives  were  not  printed  separately — it  is  advisable  to  have  as 
few  printings  as  possible — but  were  carefully  cut  down  with  a 
diamond,  and  mounted  on  a  piece  of  glass  rather  larger  than  the 
whole  picture,  the  edges  being  placed  in  contact,  making,  in  fact, 
one  large  negative  of  the  interior  of  the  cottage,  into  which  it 
would  be  comparatively  easy  to  put  almost  anything.  The  next 
negative  was  the  old  man.  This  included  the  table,  chair,  and 
matting  on  which  his  feet  rest.  This  matting  is  roughly  vig- 
netted into  the  adjoining  ground  of  the  cottage  negative.  The 
great  difficulty  at  first  with  this  figure  was  the  impossibility  of 
joining  the  light  head  to  the  dark  background ;  no  amount 
of  careful  registration  seemed  equal  to  effect  this  difficult  opera- 
tion ;  but  if  it  could  not  be  done,  it  could  be  evaded.  Several 
clever  people  have  been  able  to  point  out  the  join  round  the 
head,  down  the  forehead,  and  along  the  nose,  but  we  have  never 
been  able  to  see  it  ourselves,  because  we  know  it  is  not  there. 
This  is  how  the  difficulty  was  got  over.  The  figure  was  taken  with 


COMBINATION    FEINTING.  81 

a  background  that  would  print  as  nearly  as  possible  as  dark  as 
the  dark  of  the  cottage.  The  join  is  nowhere  near  the  head, 
but  runs  up  the  square  back  of  the  old  woman's  chair,  then  up 
the  wall,  and  across  the  picture,  over  the  head  in  an  irregular 
line,  and  descends  on  the  old  man's  back,  whence  it  was  easy  to 
carry  it  down  the  dark  edge  of  his  dress  and  the  chairs  till  it 
comes  to  the  group  of  baskets,  pails,  &c.,  that  fill  up  the  corner. 
On  the  other  side,  the  join  runs  along  the  edge  of  the  table,  and 
finds  its  way  out  where  the  floor  coverings  come  together.  The 
old  lady  was  then  photographed,  and  is  simply  joined  round  the 
edge  ;  so  also  was  the  group  in  the  corner,  and  the  glimpse  of  the 
village  seen  through  the  window. 

At  first  sight,  it  will  appear  difficult  to  place  the  partly- 
printed  pictures  in  the  proper  place  on  the  corresponding  nega- 
tive. There  are  many  ways  of  doing  this,  either  of  which  may 
be  chosen  to  suit  the  subject.  Sometimes  a  needle  may  be  run 
through  some  part  of  the  print,  the  point  being  allowed  to  rest 
on  the  corresponding  part  of  the  second  negative.  The  print 
will  then  fall  in  its  place  at  that  point.  Some  other  point  has 
then  to  be  found  at  a  distance  from  the  first ;  this  may  be  done 
by  turning  up  the  paper  to  any  known  mark  on  the  negative, 
and  allowing  the  print  to  fall  upon  it;  if  the  two  separate 
points  fall  on  the  right  places,  all  the  others  must  be  correct. 
Another  way  of  joining  the  prints  from  the  separate  negatives  is 
by  placing  a  candle  or  Icmp  under  the  glass  of  the  printing- frame 
— practically,  to  use  a  glass  table — and  throwing  a  light  through 
the  negative  and  paper;  the  join  can  then  be  seen  through. 
But  the  best  method  is  to  make  register  marks  on  the  negatives. 
This  is  done  in  the  following  manner.  We  will  suppose  that 
we  wish  to  print  a  figure  with  a  landscape  background  from  two 
negatives,  the  foreground  having  been  taken  with  the  figure. 
At  the  two  bottom  corners  of  the  figure  negative  make  two  marks 
with  black  varnish,  thus  LJj  J  these,  of  course,  will  print  white 
in  the  picture.  A  proof  is  now  taken,  and  the  outline  of  the 


82  COMRINA-TrON    PRINTING. 


figure  cut  out  accurately.  Where  the  foreground  and  background 
j  >in,  the  paper  m^y  be  torn  across,  and  the  edges  afterwards 
vignetted  with  black  varnish  on  the  back  of  the  negatives.  This 
mark  is  now  fitted  in  its  place  on  the  landscape  negative. 
Another  print  is  now  taken  of  the  figure  negative,  and  the 
white  corner  marks  cut  away  very  accurately  with  a  pair  of 
scissors.  The  print  is  now  carefully  applied  to  the  landscape 
negative,  so  that  the  mark  entirely  covers  those  parts  of  the 
print  already  finished.  The  landscape  is  then  printed  in.  Be- 
fore, however,  it  is  removed  from  the  printing-frame,  if,  on 
partial  examination,  the  joins  appear  to  be  perfect,  two  lead 
pencil  or  black  varnish  marks  are  made  on  the  mark  round  the 
cut-out  corners  at  the  bottom  of  the  print  .  After  the  first 
successful  proof  there  is  no  need  for  any  measurement  or  fitting 
to  get  the  two  parts  of  the  picture  to  join  perfectly  ;  all  that  is 
necessary  is  merely  to  cut  out  the  little  white  marks,  and  fit  the 
corners  to  the  corresponding  marks  on  the  mask  ;  and  there  is 
no  need  to  look  if  the  joins  coincide  at  other  places,  because, 
it  two  points  are  right,  it  follows  that  all  must  be  so.  This 
method  can  be  applied  in  a  variety  of  ways  to  suit  different  cir- 
cumstances. 

It  is  always  well  to  have  as  few  paintings  as  possible,  and  it 
frequently  happens  that  two  or  more  negatives  can  be  printed 
together.  For  instance,  the  picture  we  have  been  discussing  — 
"When  the  Day's  Work  is  Done  "  —  is  produced  from  six  nega- 
tives, but  it  only  took  three  printings.  The  two  negatives  of 
which  the  cottage  is  composed  was,  as  already  explained, 
set  up  on  a  large  sheet  of  glass,  and  printed  at  once  ;  the  old 
man  was  also  set  upon  another  gla<s  of  the  same  size,  with  the 
negative  of  the  glimpse  through  the  window  ;  and  the  old  woman 
was  printed  in  like  manner,  with  the  corner  group  of  baskets, 
&c.  So  that  here  were  practically  three  negatives  only.  These 
were,  registered  with  corner  in  arks  so  accurately  that  not  a  single 
copy  has  been  lost  through  bad  joins. 


-COSTBINATION    PKINTHTO.  83 

There  are  one  or  two  things  to  consider  briefly  before  con- 
cluding this  subject. 

It  is  true  that  combination  printing — allowing,  as  it  does,  much 
greater  liberty  to  the  photographer,  and  much  greater  facilities 
for  representing  the  truth  of  nature — also  admits,  from  these  very 
facts,  of  a  wide  latitude  for  abuse ;  but  the  photographer  must 
accept  the  conditions  at  his  own  peril.  If  he  find  thpt  he  is  not 
sufficiently  advanced  in  knowledge  of  art,  and  has  not  sufficient 
reverence  for  nature,  to  allow  him  to  make  use  of  these  liberties, 
let  him  put  on  his  fetters  again,  and  confine  himself  to  one  plate. 
It  is  certain  (and  this  we  put  in  italics,  to  impress  it  more 
strongly  on  the  memory)  that  a  photograph,  produced  by  combi- 
nation printing  must  be  deeply  studied  in  every  particular,  so  that 
no  departure  from  the  truth  of  nature  shall  be  discovered  by  the 
closest  scrutiny.  No  two  things  must  occur  in  one  picture  that 
cannot  happen  in  nature  at  the  same  time.  If  a  sky  is  added  to 
a  landscape,  the  light  must  fall  on  the  clouds  and  on  the  earth 
from  the  same  source  and  in  the  same  direction.  This  is  a 
matter  that  should  not  be  done  by  judgment  alone,  but  by  judg- 
ment guided  by  observation  of  nature.  Effects  are  often  seen, 
especially  in  cloud-laud,  very  puzzling  to  the  calm  reasoner 
when  he  sees  them  in  a  picture  ;  but  these  are  the  effects  that 
are  often  best  worth  preserving,  and  which  should  never  be 
neglected,  because  it  may  possibly  happen  that  somebody  will 
not  understand  it,  and,  therefore,  say  it  is  false,  and,  arguing  still 
further  on  the  wrong  track,  will  say  that  combination  printing 
always  produces  falsehoods,  and  must  be  condemned.  A  short 
anecdote  may,  perhaps,  be  allowed  here.  Some  time  ago  a 
photograph  of  a  landscape  and  sky  was  sent  to  a  gentleman 
whose  general  judgment  in  ait  was  admitted  to  be  excellent ;  but 
he  knew  that  combination  pi  inting  was  sometimes  employed.  In 
acknowledging  the  receipt  he  said,  "  Thank  you  for  the  photo- 
graph ;  it  is  a  most  extraordinary  effect  ;  sensational,  certainly, 
but  very  beautiful  j  but  it  shows,  by  what  it  is,  what  photo- 


84  COMBINATION   PKINTING. 

graphy  cannot  do ;  your  sky  does  not  match  your  landscape ;  it 
must  have  been  taken  at  a  different  time  of  day,  at  another 
period  of  the  year.  A  photograph  is  nothing  if  not  true."  Now 
it  so  happened  that  the  landscape  and  sky  were  taken  at  the 
same  time,  the  only  difference  being  that  the  sky  had  a  shorter 
exposure  than  the  landscape,  which  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
get  the  clouds  at  all,  and  does  not  affect  the  result.  Another 
instance  arose  in  connection  with  a  picture  representing  a  group 
of  figures  with  a  landscape  background.  Four  of  the  figures 
were  taken  on  one  plate,  at  one  operation ;  yet  a  would-be 
critic  wrote  at  some  length  to  prove  that  these  figures  did  not 
agree  one  with  another ;  that  the  light  fell  on  them  from  different 
quarters ;  that  the  perspective  of  each  had  different  points  of 
sight ;  and  that  each  figure  was  taken  from  a  different  point  of 
view !  These  two  cases  are  mentioned  to  show  that  it  is  some- 
times a  knowledge  of  the  means  employed,  rather  than  a  know- 
ledge of  nature — a  foregone  conclusion  that  the  thing  must 
be  wrong,  rather  than  a  conviction,  from  observation,  that  it  is 
not  right — that  influences  the  judgment  of  those  who  are  not 
strong  enough  to  say,  "  This  thing  is  right,"  or  "  This  thing  is 
wrong,  no  matter  by  what  means  it  may  have  been  produced." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

TONING    THE   PRINT. 

IP  a  print  on  albumenized  paper  be  fixed  without  any  inter- 
mediate process,  the  result  is  that  the  image  is  of  a  red, 
disagreeable  tone,  and  unsightly.  Moreover,  it  will  be  found 
that,  if  such  a  print  be  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  it  rapidly 
loses  its  freshness,  and  fades.  In  order  to  avoid  this  unsightli- 
ness,  resort  is  had  to  toning,  the  toning,  in  reality,  being  the 
substitution  of  some  lees  attackable  metal  for  the  metallic  silver 
which  forms  a  portion  of  the  print.  The  usual  metal  used  for  sub- 
stitution is  gold  applied  in  the  state  of  the  ter-chloiide.  It  is  not 
very  easy  to  tell  precisely  how  the  subst  tution  is  effected ;  the 
question  is,  at  present,  sub  judice,  and,  therefore,  we  propose  to 
omit  any  theory  that  may  have  been  broached.  It  is  sufficient  to 
say  that  it  is  believed  the  first  step  towards  the  reduction  of  the 
gold  is  the  production  of  a  hydrated  oxide,  and  never  metallic 
gold.  Be  that  as  it  may,  if  a  finely-divided  silver  be  placed 
in  a  solution  of  chloride  of  gold,  the  silver  becomes  converted 
into  the  chloride,  and  the  gold  is  quickly  reduced  to  the  metallic 
state  ;  and  since  gold  combines  with  more  chloride  than  does  silver, 
it  is  manifest  that  when  the  substitution  takes  place,*  the 

•  Silver  subchloride  and  gold  trichloride  give  silver  chloride  and  gold. 
3Ag2Cl         -f        AuCU        =        6AgCl     -j-  Au 


86  TGITING  THE  PRIHT. 

metallic  gold  deposited  must  be  very  much  less  than  the  silver. 
The  colouring  power  of  gold  is,  however,  very  great,  when  in 
the  fine  state  of  division  in  which  we  have  it,  being  an  intense 
purple  to  blue  colour,  and  a  very  little  of  this  mixed  visually 
with  the  ruddy  or  brown  colour  of  the  albuminate  which  has  been 
discoloured  by  light  gives,  after  fixing,  a  pleasing  tone.  A  pic- 
ture, v.  hen  toned  thus,  is  composed  of  silver  subchloride,  metallic 
gold,  and  an  organic  compound  of  silver.  If  a  print  be  kept  in 
the  toning  bath  too  long,  we  are  all  aware  that  the  image 
Becomes  blue  and  feeble,  and  the  same  disaster  happens  when 
a  toning  bath  is  too  strong,  i.e.,  is  too  rich  in  gold  solution.  The 
reason  of  this  is,  that  too  much  gold  is  substituted  for  the  silver 
in  the  sub-chloride,  and  there  is  in  consequence  too  great  a  colour 
of  the  finely-precipitated  gold  seen.  To  make  a  toning  bath,  the 
first  thing  is  to  look  after  the  gold.  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
chloride  of  gold  sold,  which  is,  in  reality,  not  chloride  of  gold,  but 
a  double  chloride  of  gold  and  of  some  such  other  base  as  potassium, 
and  if  it  be  paid  for  as  pure  chloride  of  gold,  it  is  manifest  that 
the  price  will  be  excessive.  It  is  best  to  purchase  pure  chloride 
of  gold,  though  it  may  be  slightly  acid,  since  subsequent  opera- 
tions correct  the  acidity.  In  our  own  practice  we  get  fifteen-grain 
tubes,  and  break  them  open,  and  add  to  each  grain  one  drachm  of 
water,  and  in  this  state  it  is  convenient  to  measure  out.  Thus, 
for  every  grain  of  gold  to  be  used,  it  is  only  necessary  to  measure 
out  one  drachm  into  a  measure.  In  delicate  chemical  opera- 
tions, this  would  rightly  be  considered  a  rough  method;  but  for 
a  practical  photographer  it  is  sufficiently  precise. 

Now  if  chloride  of  gold  alone  were  used,  it  would  be  found 
that  the  prints,  after  immersion  in  a  dilute  solution,  were  poor  and 
"measley,"  and  practice  has  told  us  that  we  must  add  something  to 
the  solution  to  enable  it  to  act  gradually  and  evenly.  "First  of 
all,  the  gold  solution  must  be  perfectly  neutral,  and  we  know  no 
better  plan  than  adding  to  it  a  little  powdered  chalk,  which  at 
once  neutralizes  any  free  acid.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  indifference 


TONIXG  THE  FEINT.  87 

what  farther  retarder  is  added,  for  the  reason  that  the  more  you 
retnrd  the  action,  the  more  ruby-coloured  hecomes  the  gold,  and 
less  blue.  A  well-known  experiment  is  to  dissolve  a  little 
phosphorus  in  ether,  and  add  it  to  a  gallon  of  water,  end  then 
to  drop  in  and  stir  about  half  a  grain  of  chloride  of  gold. 
Plio  phorus  reduces  the  gold  into  the  metallic  state,  but  when 
so  dilute  the  reduction  takes  places  very  slowly.  The  gold  will, 
however,  precipitate  gradually,  but  it  will  be  in  suoh  a  fine  state 
of  division  that  it  is  a  bright  ruby  colour.  A  very  common 
addition  to  make  to  a  toning  bath  is  acetate  of  soda,  and  if  the 
gold  be  in  defect,  the  same  appearance  will  take  place  in  the 
solution.  If  chloride  of  lime,  however,  be  added  instead,  and  a 
commencement  of  precipitation  of  gold  be  brought  about,  the 
gold  will  be  of  a  blue  colour,  having  a  slight  tendency  to  purple. 
In  this  case,  the  grains  of  gold  deposited  are  larger  than  when  it 
is  in  the  ruby  state.  The  tone  of  the  print  then  depends  in  a  large 
measure  on  the  degree  of  rapidity  with  which  the  gold  is  deposited. 
The  quicker  the  deposit,  the  larger  and  bluer  the  gold,  whilst 
au  extremely  slow  deposition  will  give  the  red  form.  It  often 
happens  that  no  matter  how  long  a  print  is  immersed  in  a  toning 
bath,  it  never  takes  a  blue  tone.  The  reason  will  be  obvious 
from  the  above  remarks. 

We  now  give  some  toning  baths  which  are  much  used. 

No.  1. — Gold  tri-chloride 1  grain 

Sodium  carbonate  ...         ...         ...  10  grains 

Water         ...         ,        ...  10  ounces 

This  bath  must  be  used  immediately  after  mixing,  since  the 
gold  is  precipitated  by  the  carbonate.  The  tones  given  by  this 
*»ath  are  purple  and  black.  The  prints  should  be  toned  to  dark 
brown  for  the  purple  tone,  and  a  slightly  blue  tone  for  the  black 
tone. 


88  TONING   THE  PBINT. 

No.  2.— Gold  tri-chloride     ...         ...         ...     2  grains 

Saturated  solution  of  chloride  of  lime     2  drops 
Chalk          ...         ...         ...         ...     a  pinch 

Water          16  ounces 

The  saturated  solution  of  chloride  of  lime  is  made  by  taking  the 
common  desinfecting  powder,  and  shaking  a  teaspoonful  up  in  a 
pint  bottle.  When  the  solids  have  settled,  the  clear  liquid  can 
be  decanted  off,  and  corked  up  till  required.  This  is  the  solution 
used  above.  It  is  as  well  to  keep  this  solution  in  the  dark  room. 
The  water  with  this  bath  should  be  hot  (boiling  better  still), 
and  the  bath  may  be  used  when  it  is  thoroughly  cool.  It  is 
better,  however,  to  keep  it  a  day  before  using,  since,  when 
fresh,  the  action  is  apt  to  be  too  violent,  and  the  prints  are 
readily  over-toned.  The  tone  with  this  bath  is  a  deep  sepia  to 
black.  To  get  the  first  tone  a  very  short  immersion  is 
necessary  ;  the  prints  should  be  almost  red.  For  a  black  tone 
the  prints  should  be  left  in  the  solution  till  they  are  induced 
to  be  of  a  purple  hue. 

No.  3  is  made  as  follows  :— 

Sodium  acetate  ...         ...         ...     1  drachm 

Gold  trichloride          ...         ...         ...     5  minim 

Distilled  water          12  ounces 

This  bath  is  a  most  excellent  one  in  many  respects,  and 
should  not  be  used  under  a  week  to  get  the  best  result.  As 
this  is  a  long  time  to  keep  a  bath,  it  as  as  well  to  have  t\vo 
always  on  stock.  It  keeps  indefinitely  if  proper  care  be  taken 
of  it.  This  produces  a  purple  or  broxvn  tone,  accoiding  to  the 
length  of  time  the  print  is  immersed  in  it. 

Now,  as  to  toning  the  print.  After  the  day's  printing  is 
done,  the  prints  should  be  placed  in  a  pan  of  good  fresh  water, 
in  order  to  dissolve  out  all  or  a  certain  amount  of  silver  nitrate 
that  is  invariably  left  in  them.  A  puncheon,  such  as  is  used  iti 


TONING   THE   PRINT.  89 

dairies,  is  very  convenient.  It  should  be  filled  with  water,  and  the 
prints  placed  in  one  by  one,  taking  care  that  no  one  sticks  to  its 
neighbour,  as  this  would  be  a  fruitful  source  of  unequal  toning. 
Most  water  contains  a  little  carbonate  of  lime  and  chloride  of 
sodium,  &c. ;  the  water  will  therefore  become  milky.  "When 
the  prints  have  been  in  the  first  water  for  ten  minutes,  they 
should  be  removed  to  another  vessel  of  water,  one  by  one.  The 
first  wash  water  should  be  placed  in  a  wooden  tub,  with  a  tap 
let  into  it  about  six  inches  above  the  base,  together  with  a  little 


common  salt.  The  salt  forms  chloride  of  silver,  which  gradually 
precipitates,  and  the  clear  water  is  then  drawn  off  on  the  next 
day,  and  the  sediment  is  left  undisturbed. 

It  now  remains  to  see  which  toning  bath  is  to  be  used.  If 
No.  1  or  3,  the  whole  of  the  free  silver  should  as  far  as  possible 
l>e  washed  away,  which  may  entail  three  or  four  changes  of  water ; 
the  last  two  washings  it  will  hardly  repay  to  place  in  the  tub; 
the  second  washing  should  certainly  be  added  to  it.  If  No.  2 
toning  bath  be  used,  a  little  free  silver  should  remain  in  the 
print ;  in  fact,  the  washing  should  be  confined  to  two  changes  of 
water. 

When  toning  operations  are  commenced,  the  toning  solution  is 
poured  off  from  any  sediment  that  may  be  in  the  bottle  contain- 
ing it  into  a  dish  a  couple  of  inches  wider  each  way  than  the 


90  TONING   THE   PBINT. 

largest  print  which  has  to  be  toned.  If  big  prints  have  to  be 
toned,  it  is  inadvisable  to  place  more  than  a  couple  in  the  dish  at 
the  same  time,  since  there  is  a  certain  awkwardness  in  judging 
of  the  amount  of  tone  given  to  a  print  which  is  (say)  between  two 
or  three.  The  prints  should  be  placed  face  up  in  the  solution,  and 
great  care  should  be  taken  that  liquid  separates  each  print  from 
tho  next  one  to  it,  otherwise  there  will  be  patches  of  unequal 
toning.  The  dish  containing  the  prints  in  the  solution  should 
be  gently  rocked  to  secure  a  proper  mixture  of  the  solution 
which  may  have  been  robbed  of  its  gold  in  those  strata  next 
surface  of  the  prints.  The  rocking  is  also  advisable  to  cause  any 
adhesion  between  two  deep-toning  prints  impossible.  If  the  prints 
be  of  small  size,  a  dozen  or  more  may  be  toned  at  one  operation. 
Each  print  should  be  frequently  brought  to  the  surface  of  the 
liquid,  and  examined  in  order  to  see  how  the  toning  action  is 
progressing.  "When  one  print  is  judged  sufficiently  toned,  it  is 
removed  to  a  dish  containing  pure  water,  and  another  untoned 
print  placed  in  the  dish  in  its  stead.  This  operation  is  continued 
till  all  the  prints  are  toned.  We  have  heard  that  it  has  been 
suggested  to  place  the  prints  in  water  containing  a  littler  acetic 
acid  or  common  salt,  in  order  to  stop  the  toning  action  con- 
tinuing from  the  solution  which  may  be  held  in  the  paper.  The 
former  is  most  undesirable,  acetic  acid,  as  we  shall  see  presently, 
decomposing  the  fixing  bath. 

As  to  the  addition  of  common  salt,  we  can  scarcely  give  a 
favourable  opinion  regarding  it.  The  addition  of  a  chloride  docs, 
in  truth,  alter  the  colour  of  the  deposited  gold  (see  ante),  and  it 
may  be  this  that  gives  rise  to.  the  opinion  that  it  corrects  toning 
action.  Of  one  thing  we  have  little  doubt,  however,  and  that  is, 
that  the  addition  of  any  large  amount  of  common  salt  will  tend 
to  turn  the  albumenate  of  silver  into  chloride,  which  in  fixing 
will  materially  weaken  the  print.  When  giving  the  formula  of 
the  toning  baths,  we  have  indicated  the  depth  to  which  toning 
should  take  place.  One  great  point  to  attend  to  is,  that  a  print 


TONING   THE   PRINT.  91 

should  not  be  a  slatey  colour  when  fixed,  and  that  can  only  be 
avoided  by  stopping  the  toning  action  when  the  print  arrives  at 
a  blue-purple  stage. 

The  toning  bath,  when  used,  should  be  replaced  in  the  bottle, 
and  we  recommend  that  it  be  kept  in  a  dark  place,  otherwise 
any  chloride  of  silver  which  finds  its  way  into  the  solution  will 
darken  and  be  a  nucleus  for  the  precipitation  of  gold  from  the 
solution.  The  energy  of  the  toning  bath  would,  in  consequence, 
be  wholly  gone.  It  will  be  found  that  in  very  cold  solutions 
formed  in  winter  the  toning  action  is  much  slower  than  in 
summer,  and  we  need  scarcely  point  out  that  this  due  to  the  fact 
that  cold  invariably  retards  chemical  action.  This  retardation  is 
not  advantageous,  and  it  will  be  found  positively  hurtful  as  to 
the  colour  of  the  precipitated  gold.  We  therefore  recommend 
that  the  toning  solution  and  the  dish  in  which  it  is  to  be  poured 
should  be  warmed  before  the  fire,  the  former  to  a  temperatuie  of 
about  70°F.,  and  the  latter  a  little  higher.  By  this  means  the 
toning  action  will  take  place  as  rapidly  as  in  warm  weather, 
and  the  same  tones  be  produced.  It  must  be  rememberd  we  are 
writing  for  all ;  not  for  those  alone  who  have  an  elaborate  arrange- 
ment for  keeping  their  operating  rooms  at  a  good  temperature 
in  all  weathers,  but  also  for  those  who  cannot  afford  the  luxury. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  we  have  given  the  above  directions. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

FIXING   THE    PRINT. 

SIR  J.  HF.RSCHEL  was  the  first  to  point  out  that  hyposulphite 
of  soda  would  dissolve  chloride  of  silver,  and  subsequently  it  has 
heen  found  that  it  dissolves  almost  every  organic  salt  of  silver. 
In  our  early  chapters  we  gave  some  examples  of  this.  When 
we  add  hyposulphite  to  a  salt  of  silver,  such  as  the  chloride,  we 
get  one  of  two  reactions,  the  formation  of  a  nearly  insoluble 
double  hyposulphite  of  soda  and  silver,  or  a  readily  soluble  one. 

Sodium  Insoluble  Double  Sodium 

and      Hyposulphite    form  Hyposulphite  of     and    Chloride. 
Silver  and  Sodium 

Kft^Oj         =    ^A^NaS^oT"    -f        NaCl 

Sodium  Soluble  Double  Sodium 

Hyposulphite  form     Hyposulphite  of     and      Chloride. 
Silver  and  Sodium 

SNaaS^Os      =     Ag2  Na43(S908j      +     ^Na  Ci 

The  first  insoluble  double  hyposulphite  is  formed  when  there 
is  only  a  small  quantity  of  sodium  hyposulphite  present ;  the 
soluble  kind  when  the  sodium  hypsulphite  is  in  excess.  Since 
it  is  the  soluble  kind  which  we  wish  to  form,  it  is  manifest  that 
the  presence  of  a  sufficiency  of  hyposulphite  in  the  fixing  bajbh 
is  necessary.  If  not,  we  have  left  the  insoluble  form  on  the 
paper.  If  either  of  these  two  kinds  of  hyposulphite  be  made 


FIXING   THE   PRINT.  93 

in  a  test-tube,  we  can  readily  simulate  the  effect  of  atmospheric 
exposure.  If  slightly  acid  water  be  added  to  the  hyposulphite, 
it  will  be  seen,  when  chloride  of  silver  has  been  dissolved  by 
the  hyposulphite,  that  the  precipitate  or  solution  commences  to 
blacken,  sulphide  of  silver  being  formed.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
we  take  albumenate  of  silver,  and  dissolve  it  in  hyposulphite  of 
soda,  we  shall  find  that  the  addition  of  acid  gradually  causes  a 
yellow-looking  compound  to  separate  out,  and  it  is  probably  this 
body  formed  in  the  paper  which  causes  the  gradual  yellowing 
of  the  whites  of  silver  prints. 

What  is  taught  us,  then,  by  this  observation  is,  that  by  thorough 
washing  we  must  try  and  eliminate  all  traces  of  hyposulphite  of 
silver,  and,  indeed,  of  the  hyposulphite  of  soda,  since  the  latter 
decomposes  as  rapidly  in  the  presence  of  acid  as  does  the  silver 
compound. 

The  formula  for  the  fixing  bath  which  we  recommend  is :— - 

Sodium  hyposulphite 4  ounces 

Water 1  pint 

Ammonia         •••         •••         ...         •••     £•  drachm 

The  addition  of  the  ammonia  prevents  any  possibility  of  an 
acid  reaction  arising,  and  otherwise  softens  the  film  of  albumen 
imd  the  size  of  the  paper,  causing  more  rapid  fixation  and  more 
thorough  washing.  Another  thing  the  ammonia  does  is,  that 
it  prevents,  in  a  great  measure,  blistering  of  the  film  of  albu- 
men, which  is  common  in  some  highly-albumenized  paper. 

Experience  has  shown  that  one  ounce  of  solid  hyposulphite  will 
fix  with  safety  three  sheets  of  paper,  so  that  an  idea  can  be  formed 
of  how  much  must  be  used  for  a  day's  printing.  The  hypo- 
sulphite bath  which  has  been  used  one  day  should  never  be  used 
the  next,  since  it  invariably  contains  the  germs  of  decomposition 
in  it  from  some  cause  or  another.  Indeed,  the  appearance  of  the 
solution  indicates  this  is  so,  since  it  is  usually  of  a  yellow  or 
brownish  appearance. 


94  FIXING  THE   PBINT. 

The  time  required  for  fixing  a  print  varies  with,  the  thickness 
of  the  paper  used.  As  a  rule,  prints  on  the  medium-sized  paper 
require  ten  minutes'  soaking  in  the  bath,  whilst  thick-size 
requires  fifteen  minutes.  Whilst  toning,  the  dish  containing 
the  hyposulphite  should  be  kept  in  a  gentle  rocking  motion,  as 
in  toning,  and  for  the  same  reasons.  Prints  may  be  examined 
from  time  to  time,  to  see  how  the  fixing  progresses.  When  a 
print  is  not  quite  fixed,  small  spots  of  dark  appearance  will  be 
seen  when  it  is  examined  by  transmitted  light.  The  operation 
of  fixing  should  be  continued  after  these  disappear  for  at  least 
three  or  four  minutes,  in  order  that  the  hyposulphite  of  soda  in 
the  dish  may  get  impregnated  with  the  double  silver  and  sodium 
salt  which  is  in  the  print,  and  thus  render  washing  more  effectual. 
It  should  be  noted  that  the  dish  for  fixing  should  be  at  least  as 
long  and  wide  as  the  dish  used  for  toning ;  that  it  should  be 
deeper  when,  as  a  rule,  all  the  prints  are  fixed  at  one  time. 
Care  should  be  taken  that  dishes  which  are  used  for  sensitizing, 
toning,  or  fixing,  should  not  be  used  for  anything  eke.  The  glaze 
of  porcelaiii  dishes  is  often  soft,  and  frequently  absorbs  a  certain 
amount  of  the  solutions  used.  Thus,  if  a  porcelain  dish  be  used 
for  a  solution  of  any  aniline  dye,  it  will  often  be  found  that  it  is 
permanently  stained.  Colour  in  this  last  is  merely  indication  of 
what  happens  with  any  other  solution.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
that  it  is  a  mistake  to  use  a  dish  or  fixing  when  the  glaze  is 
cracked,  sincejold  hyposulphite  must  find  its  way  into  the  body  of 
the  fresh  solution  that  may  be  used,  and  thus  institute  a  sponta- 
neous decomposition,  and  a  consequent  want  of  permanence  in  the 
print.  For  our  own  part,  we  believe  that  a  gutta-percha  dish  is 
a  safer  dish  to  use  than  any  other,  since  it  is  impervious  to  any 
solution,  and  can  be  well  scoured  after  fixing,  and  before  being 
again  brought  into  use.  We  believe  that  much  of  the  fading  of 
prints  may  be  traced  to  the  use  of  unsuitable  dishes  for  fixing. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


WASHING   THE    PRINT. 

THERE  are  very  many  apparatus  designed  for  washing  prints ;  but 
we  believe  that,  where  few  prints  have  to  be  treated,  careful 
hand-washing  is  as  superior  to  machine-washing,  as  hand-made 
paper  is  to  machine-made.  In  our  own  practice  we  take  the 
prints  from  the  fixing-dish,  and  immerse  them  in  a  large  puncheon 
of  water,  and  allow  them  to  soak  for  five  minutes,  after  which 
we  carefully  pour  off  all  the  water,  and  replenish  with  fresh,  in 
which  we  leave  them  for  a  quarter-of-an-hour.  After  that  we 
take  the  prints  and  place  them  on  a  glass  slab,  and,  withasquegee, 
squeeze  as  much  water  as  possible  out  of  each  separately ;  this 
we  repeat  twice.  After  two  more  washings  of  a  quarter-of-an- 
hour,  we  then  wash  for  half-an-hour,  and,  with  a  sponge,  dab 
them  as  dry  as  possible,  and  again  immerse  for  half-an-hour. 
After  repeating  this  operation  twice,  we  allow  a  stream  of  running 
water  to  ponr  into  the  puncheon  for  a  couple  of  hours,  carrying 
the  stream  through  an  india-rubber  pipe,  at  the  end  of  which  is 
a  glass  tube,  to  the  bottom  of  the  puncheon,  and  so  that  the  poiir 
of  water  goes  against  the  side.  By  this  means  there  is  a  con- 
stant stir  in  the  water,  and  the  water  flows  over  the  edge  of  the 
puncheon.  It  is  convenient  to  cut  a  notch  in  the  top  rim  of  the 
puncheon,  so  that  the  water  may  find  an  exit  before  reaching  the 


96 


WASHING    THE   PEINT. 


level  of  the  rim.  The  prints  are  then  taken  out,  sponged  once 
more,  and  dried.  By  this  arrangement  we  have  got  prints  which 
areperfectly  unfaded,  though  they  have  been  in  existence  eighteen 
years,  and  have  been  to  the  tropics,  and  in  the  dampest  climates. 
This  method  of  washing,  though  tedious,  should  be  applied  to  all 
prints ;  but,  in  the  present  day,  it  can  hardly  be  hoped  that  it 
can  be  immediately  adopted,  on  account  of  the  attention  it 
requires ;  we  therefore  describe  an  apparatus  which  can  be  used. 
It  was  designed  by  Mr.  England,  and  consists  of  a  working 
trough,  as  shown  in  the  figure,  which  is  automatically  worked 
by  an  overshot  wheel.  We  need  not  enter  into  the  details  of  the 
invention,  as  they  are  self-evident* 


JKg.  28. 

This  washing  arrangement  causes  the  prints  to  be  alternately 
soaking  in  water,  and  draining.  Whilst  in  the  water  they  are 
perpetually  being  shaken  apart  by  the  movement  of  the  tray> 
and  thus  every  part  of  the  print  gets  washed,  and  it  is  almost 
impossible  for  two  prints  to  stick  together.  In  all  washing 
apparatus  there  is  a  danger  of  air-bells  forming  on  the  surface  of 
the  prints  while  in  the  water,  but  in  this  form  there  is  the  ad  van- 


WASHING    THE    PRINT.  97 

tage  that  whilst  draining  the  air-bells  must  break,  and  so  water 
on  rising  to  the  level  of  the  prints  can  obliterate  any  of  the  evil 
effects  which  would  be  caused  by  their  being  perpetually  remain- 
ing on  one  spot.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  describe  other  forms 
of  the  apparatus,  since  there  are  so  many ;  we  have  chosen  one 
which  appears  to  us  to  be  a  satisfactory  form. 

The  following  tests  for  the  elimination  of  hyposulphite  are 
taken  from  another  work  of  this  series.* 

"  The  following  is  a  most  delicate  test. 

"  Make  the  following  test  solution :  — 

Potassium  permanganate  ...         ...     2  grains 

Potassium  carbonate      ...         ...         ...  20      ,, 

Water 1  quart 

"  The  addition  of  a  few  drops  of  this  rose-coloured  solution  to 
a  pint  of  water  will  yield  a  slightly  pink  tinge.  If  there  be  any 
trace  of  sodium  hyposulphite  present,  this  colour  will  give  place 
to  one  of  a  greenish  hue. 

"  If  the  permanganate  be  not  at  hand,  the  following  well- 
known  starch  iodide  test  may  be  adopted : — 

"  Take  about  two  drachms  of  water  and  a  small  piece  of  starch 
about  the  size  of  a  small  pea  ;  powder  and  boil  the  starch  in  the 
water  till  the  solution  is  quite  clear ;  add  one  drop  of  a  saturated 
solution  of  iodine  in  alcohol  to  this  clear  liquid.  It  will  now 
become  dark  blue.  Of  this  solution  drop  two  drops  into  two 
clean  test  tubes,  and  fill  up  one  with  distilled  water  and  the 
other  with  the  water  to  be  tested ;  a  faint  blue  colour  should 
be  perceptible  in  the  first  test  tube.  In  the  second  test  tube, 
should  hyposulphite  be  present,  this  blue  colour  will  have 
disappeared,  the  iodide  of  starch  becoming  colourless  in  its 
presence.  The  best  mode  of  comparing  the  two  waters  is  by 
placing  a  piece  of  white  paper  behind  the  test  tubes. 

*  "  Instruction  in  Photography,''  4th  edition. 


98  WASHING   THE   PRINT. 

"  It  frequently  occurs  that  though  sodium  hyposulphite  can- 
not be  detected  in  the  washing  water,  it  may  be  present  in  the 
paper  itself.  The  paper  on  which  most  prints  are  taken  being 
sized  with  starch,  if  a  very  weak  solution  of  iodine  be  applied 
with  a  brush  across  the  back  of  a  print,  a  blue  mark  will  indicate 
the  absence  of  the  hyposulphite.  Care  must  be  taken  that  the 
iodine  solution  is  very  weak,  otherwise  a  part  of  the  iodine  will 
first  destroy  the  trace  of  the  salt,  and  then  the  remainder  will 
bring  out  the  blue  re-action." 

We  finish  this  chapter  by  quoting  our  maxims  to  be  observed 
in  printing. 

"Maxims for  Printing. 

"1.  The  prints  should  have  the  highest  lights  newly  white, 
and  the  shadows  verging  on  a  bronzed  colour  before  toning. 

"2.  Place  the  prints,  before  toning,  in  the  water,  face  down- 
wards, and  do  not  wash  away  too  much  of  the  free  nitrate  of 
silver. 

"  3.  The  toning  solution  must  be  neutral  or  slightly  alkaline, 
and  not  colder  than  60°. 

"  4.  Tone  the  prints  to  purple  or  sepia,  according  as  warm  or 
brown  prints  are  required. 

"5.  Move  the  prints,  in  both  the  toning  and  fix  ng  solutions, 
repeatedly,  taking  care  that  no  air-bubbles  form  on  the  surface. 

"6.  Take  care  that  the  fixing  bath  is  not  acid. 

"  7.  Use  fresh  sodium  hyposulphite  solution  for  each  batch  of 
prints  to  be  fixed. 

"  8.  "Wash  thoroughly  lifter  and  before  fixing. 

"9.  Make  a  sensitizing  bath  of  a  strength  likely  to  give  the 
best  results  with  the  negatives  to  be  printed. 

"  10.  Print  in  the  shade,  or  direct  sunshine,  according  to  the 
density  of  the  negative." 


CHAPTER  XVIH 

PRINTING  ON    PLAIN    PAPER. 

RENTS  on  plain  paper  are  sometimes  of  use  ;  for  instance,  they 
form  an  excellent  basis  on  which  to  colour,  They  are  of  course 
duller  than  an  albuminized  print,  since  the  image  is  formed  more 
ia  the  body  of  the  paper  than  on  the  surface.  The  following 
formula  may  be  used : — 

Ammonium  chloride...         •••  60  to  80  grains 

Sodium  citrate          ...         ...  ...     100       „ 

Sodium  chloride       20  to  30       „ 

Gelatine         ...         ...         ...  ...       10       ,, 

Distilled  water          ...         ...  ...       10  ounces 

Or, 

Ammonium  chloride         ...  ...         100  grains 

Gelatine 10       „ 

Water        ...         ...         ...  ...           10  ounces 

The  gelatine  is  first  swelled  in  cold  water,  and  then  dissolved 
in  hot  water,  and  the  remaining  components  of  the  formulae  are 
added.  It  is  then  filtered,  and  the  paper  is  floated  for  three 
minutes,  following  the  directions  given  on  page  10.  if  it  be  re- 
quired to  obtain  a  print  on  plain  paper  in  a  hurry,  a  wash  of  citric 
acid  and  water  (one  grain  to  the  ounce)  may  be  brushed  over  the 
back  of  ordinary  albumenized  paper,  and,  when  dried,  that  side  of 
the  paper  may  be  sensitized  and  printed  in  the  ordinary  manner. 
For  cold  tones  the  wash  of  the  citric  acid  may  be  omitted. 

The  toning  and  fixing  are  the  same  as  described  in  Chapters 
XII.  and  XIII. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

PRINTING    ON    RESINIZED    PAPER. 

THE  following  is  taken  from  another  volume  of  this  series.* 

To  Mr.  Henry  Cooper  we  are  indebted  for  a  valuable  printing 
process,  founded  on  substituting  resins  for  albumen  or  othei 
sizing  matter.  The  prints  obtained  by  this  process  are  very 
beautiful,  and  lack  that  gloss  of  albumen  which  is  often  called 
vulgar  and  inartistic. 

The  following  are  the  two  formulas  which  Mr.  Cooper  has 
communicated  to  the  writer  : — 

Frankincense...         ...         ...         ••.     10  grains 

Mastic 8      „ 

Calcium  chloride       ...         ...         5  to  10      ,, 

Alcohol          ...         ...         ,,.         ...       1  ounce 

When  the  resins  are  dissolved  in  the  alcohol,  the  paper  is  im- 
mersed in  the  solution,  then  dried  and  rolled.     The  sensitizing 
bath  recommended  is  as  follows  (though-the  strong  bath  given  at 
page  126  will  answer): — 

Silver  nitrate...         ...         ...         ...     60  grains 

"Water  ..«         ...         1  ounce 

*  "Instruction  in  Photography,"  4th  edition. 


FEINTING   ON  EESINIZED   PAPEE.  101, 

To  the  water  is  added  as  much  gelatine  as  it  will  bear  without 
gelatinizing  at  60°  Fah. 

The  second  formula  gives  yery  heautiful  prints,  soft  and  deli- 
cate in  gradation. 

The  paper  is  first  coated  with  an  emulsion  of.  white  lac  in 
gelatine,  which  is  prepared  as  follows : — 

3  ounces  of  fresh  white  lac  are  dissolved  in  1  pint  of  strong 
alcohol,  and  after  filtering  or  decanting,  as  much  water  is  added 
as  it  will  bear  without  precipitating  the  lac ;  1  ounce  of  good 
gelatine  is  soaked  and  dissolved  in  the  pint  of  boiling  water, 
and  the  lac  solution  is  added  with  frequent  stirring.  If,  at 
any  stage  of  this  operation,  the  gelatine  is  precipitated,  a  little 
more  hot  water  roust  be  added.  The  pint  of  lac  solution  ought, 
however,  to  be  emulsified  in  the  gelatine  solution. 

To  use  the  emulsion,  it  is  warmed,  and  the  paper  immersed  in 
or  floated  on  it  for  three  minutes.  When  dry,  the  coated  sur- 
face is  floated  in  the  following  for  a  couple  of  minutes  : — 

Ammonium  chloride  ...         ...         ...     10  grains 

*Magnesium  lactate     ...         ...         ...     10       ,, 

When  dry,  it  is  sensitized  on  a  moderately  strong  bath  (that  given 
on  the  last  page  will  answer). 

If  more  vigour  in  the  resulting  prints  be  required,  it  is  floated 
on — 

Citric  acid         £  grains 

White  sugar 5       „ 

This  last  bath  improves  by  use,  probably  by  the  accumulation 
of  silver  nitrate  from  the  sensitized  paper. 


*  Or  ten  minims  of  ammonium  lactate. 


102  PBIffTING   ON   EESINIZED   PAPER. 

Any  of  the  toning  baths  given  in  Chapter  XII.  will  answer, 
though  Mr.  Cooper  recommends : — 

Solution  of  gold  tri-chloride  (1  gr.  to  1  dr.  of  water)     2  dr. 
Pure  precipitated  chalk        ...         ...         ...         ...    a  pinch 

Hot  water     .,.        ...        •»•        ...        10  ounces 

2  dr.  of  sodium  acetate  are  to  be  placed  in  the  stock-bottle,  and 
the  above  solution  filtered  on  to  it.  This  is  made  up  to  20  ounces, 
and  is  fit  for  use  in  a  few  hours  ;  but  it  improves  by  keeping. 

In  commencing  to  tone,  place  a  few  ounces  of  water  in  the 
dish,  and  add  an  equal  quantity  of  the  stock  solution,  and  if  the 
toning  begins  to  flag  a  little,  add  more  of  it  from  time  to  time. 

With  the  resin  processes  over-toning  is  to  be  carefully  avoided. 

Kesinized  paper  may  be  obtained  from  most  photographic 
dealers,  we  believe,  and  for  some  purposes  is  an  admirable  substi- 
tute for  albomenized  paper. 


CHAPTEE  XX. 


PRINTING    ON    GELATINO-CHLORIDE     EMULSION 
PAPER. 

MR.  W.  T.  WILKINSON  has  recently  brought  forward  the  notion 
of  using  gelatine  instead  of  albumen  as  a  medium  for  holding  the 
silver  chloriile  in  printing.  He  uses  the  following  formula  :— 

Barium  chloride     2,440  grains 

Gelatine       2,000       „ 

"Water 20  ounces 

The  gelatine  is  allowed  to  swell  in  the  water,  and,  by  the  aid  of 
heat,  is  dissolved ;  the  barium  chloride  is  then  added.  Next  he 
prepares — 

Silver  nitrate          1,700  grains 

Water          ...         ...         ...         ...         5  ounces 

and  adds  this  to  the  former,  little  by  little,  in  a  large  bottle 
•with  much  shaking,  or  pours  it  slowly  into  the  former  in  a  large 
jar,  stirring  briskly  the  whole  time.  This  makes  an  emulsion 
of  silver  chloride,  and  is  used  without  washing.  When  required 
for  use,  the  gelatine,  which  will  have  set  when  cold,  is  swelled 
by  placing  the  jar  containing  it  in  hot  water,  and  is  then  trans- 
ferred to  a  dish.  The  dish  should  be  kept  warm  by  being  placed, 
supported  on  small  blocks,  in  a  tin  tray  (about  two  inches  larger 
in  dimensions  every  way  than  the  dish)  filled  with  hot  water,  the 


101          FEINTING   ON    GELATINO-CHLORIDE    EMULSION    PAPEB. 

temperature  of  which  should  be  about  150°  P.  to  commence 
with.  Saxe  or  Rive  paper  may  be  coated  by  rolling  the  sheet 
face  outwards,  and  placing  the  edge  of  the  roll  upon  the  gela- 
tine. The  two  corners  of  the  paper  in  contact  with  the  solu- 
tion are  then  taken  hold  of  by  the  fingers,  and  raised.  The 
paper  will  unroll  of  itself,  and  take  up  a  thin  layer  of  the  gela- 
tine emulsion.  The  sheet  of  paper  is  then  suspended  to  dry. 
All  these  operations  are,  of  course,  conducted  in  the  dark  room. 
The  behaviour  of  the  paper  in  the  printing-frame  is  precisely  the 
same  as  albumenized  paper,  and  the  washing  and  toning  are 
conducted  in  the  same  way.  For  a  fixing  bath  is  used — 

Sodium  hyposulphite  ...         ...         ...     2  ounces 

Water 20      „ 

The  washing  after  fixing  is  more  rapid  than  with  albumenized 
paper.  It  is  washed  in  ten  or  twelve  changes  of  water  for  ten 
minutes,  and  then  placed  for  five  minutes  in  an  alum  bath  made 
as  follows : — 

Potash  alum    V..       ' ...         ...         ...     5  ounces 

Water  ...       ".'..         ...         ...         ...  20      „ 

The  print  is  washed  in  a  few  changes  of  water,  and  the  prints 
are  ready  for  drying  and  mounting.  The  advantage  of  the  alum 
bath  is  that  the  hyposulphite  is  destroyed  into  harmless  products, 
and  the  gelatine  is  rendered  insoluble  by  it.  In  the  formula 
given  there  is  large  excess  of  cKloride,  and  we  recommend 
that  instead  of  using  2,440  grains  of  barium  chloride,  2.050 
grains  be  used.  (Mr.  Wilkinson  has  used  that  amount  of  the 
barium  salt  thac  would  be  required  exactly  to  convert  1,700 
grains  of,  silver  nitrate  into  silver  chloride,  if  the  formula  for 
barium  chloride  were  BaCl3  instead  of  BaCl2.)  It  will  be  seen 
that  whichever  formula  is  used,  there  is  no  silver  left  to  combine 
with  the  gelatine,  and  hence  the  image  will  be  entirely  formed 
by  metallic  silver,  and  not  an  organic  salt  of  silver. 


CHAPTEE  XXI. 

DRYING    THE   PRINTS. 

IN  many  establishments  the  prints  are  taken  direct  from  the 
washing  water,  and  hung  up  by  American  clips,  and  thus 
allowed  to  dry.  When  this  is  done,  the  prints  curl  up  as 
the  water  leaves  the  paper,  and  they  become  somewhat  un- 
manageable. If  prints  have  to  be  dried  at  all  before  mounting — 
and  they  must,  unless  they  are  trimmed  before  toning — a  better 
plan  is  to  make  a  neat  heap  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  of  the  same 
size  (say  cartes),  place  them  on  blotting-paper,  and  drain 
for  a  time,  and  then  in  a  screw-press  (such  as  is  used  to  press 
table-cloths,  for  instance)  to  squeeze  out  all  superfluous  water. 
After  a  good  hard  squeeze  the  print*  should  be  separated,  and  the 
plan  adopted  by  Mr.  England  carried  out.  He  has  frames  of 
light  laths  made,  of  about  6  feet  by  3  feet,  and  over  this  frame  is 
stretched  ordinary  paperhanger's  canvas.  The  prints  are  laid  on 
this  to  dry  spontaneously,  and  they  cockle  up  but  very  little. 
The  frames,  being  light,  are  easily  handled.  After  the  squeezing 
is  done,  supposing  the  room  in  which  they  are  placed  be  not  very 
damp  or  very  cold,  the  prints  will  be  ready  for  trimming  and 
mounting  in  a  couple  of  hours.  To  our  minds  there  is  nothing 
superior  to  this  mode  of  drying,  since  the  squeezing  in  the  press 
tends  to  eliminate  every  slight  trace  of  hyposulphite  which 
might  be  left  in  them. 


106  DfiriN0  THE  PBIKTS. 

Trimming  the  Prints. — Perhaps  more  prints  are  ruined  in 
trimming  than  in  any  other  way,  when  the  operator  is  in- 
experienced, since  it  requires  judgment  to  know  which  part  of 
the  print  to  trim  off,  so  that  a  right  balance  shall  be  kept.  In 
trimming  landscape  prints,  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  set  rules; 
the  judgment  as  to  what  is  artistic  must  be  the  guide.  Of  one 
thing  we  may  be  certain,  that,  unless  the  operator  who  took  the 
original  negative  knows  exactly  how  to  balance  his  picture  on 
the  iocussmg-screen,  the  print  will  always  bear  cutting  down 
in  one  direction  or  the  other.  Such  a  clipping,  of  course,  alters 
the  size  of  the  print,  which,  if  it  be  one  of  a  series,  will  be  a 
misfortune ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the  artistic  value  of  the 
individual  print  will  be  increased. 

For  portraits  there  are  some  few  rules  which  should  be  followed 
in  trimming.  Always  allow  the  centre  of  the  face  to  be  a  little 
"out "  from  the  central  line  of  the  print,  making  more  space  on 
the  side  towards  which  the  sitter  is  looking.  Allow  a  carte  or 
cabinet  to  be  cut  in  such  a  way  that,  if  the  sitter  has  been  lean- 
ing on  something,  it  does  not  seem  as  if  he  had  been  leaning  on 
nothing.  Should  there  be  an  unintentional  lean  on  the  part  of  the 
sitter,  trim  the  print  so  that  he  appears  in  an  upright  position. 

To  trim  the  print,  there  should  be  the  various  sized  shapes 
in  glass  used.  Thus  there  should  be  glasses  with  bevelled 
edges  for  the  carte,  the  cabinet,  and  other  sizes,  which  can  be 
laid  on  the  print  as  a  guide  to  the  trimming.  The  absolute 
trimming  may  be  done  either  by  shears  or  by  a  knife,  a  leather 
cutters'  knife  being  excellent,  since  it  is  rounded,  and  can  be 
brought  to  a  keen  edge  very  readily.  "WTien  the  knife  is  used, 
the  print  is  placed  on  a  large  glass  sheet  of  good  thickness,  the 
pattern  placed  over  it,  and,  whilst  this  is  held  down  by  the  left 
hand,  the  knife  is  used  by  the  right,  keeping  it  close  to  the 
edge  of  the  pattern  glass.  When  shears  are  used,  the  print  is 
held  against  the  pattern  glass  by  the  left  hand,  and  each  side 
trimmed  by  one  clip,  taking  care  to  make  the  cut  parallel  to  the 


DBTING   THE   PRINTS.  107 

edges  of  the  pattern  glass.  It  requires  a  little  practice  to  pre- 
vent clipping  the  glass  as  well  as  the  paper,  but  for  small  sized 
prints,  such  as  the  carte,  the  shears  have  a  decided  advantage 
over  the  knife. 

For  cutting  out  ovals,  Robinson's  trimmer  is  an  excellent 
adjunct  to  the  mounting-room,  and  in  this  case  ovals  stamped 
out  of  sheet  brass  are  used  as  guides. 

The  figure  will  show  the  action  of  the  trimmer.    The   small 


Fig.  29. 

wheel  is  the  cutter,  and,  being  pivotted,  it  follows  the  curve 
against  which  it  is  held.  It  is  better  to  cut  out  prints  with  this 
trimmer  on  sheet  zinc  in  preference  to  glass,  the  edge  of  the 
wheel  being  kept  sharp  for  a  longer  time  than  where  the 
harder  glass  is  used.  To  use  the  trimmer,  the  print  is  placed  on 
the  sheet  of  zinc,  the  oval  mask  (or  square  mask,  with 
slightly  rounded  corners)  is  placed  in  position  on  it.  The  wheel 
of  the  trimmer  is  brought  parallel  to,  and  against,  the  edge  of 
the  mask,  the  handle  being  grasped  by  the  right  hand,  the 
thumb  to  the  left,  and  the  fingers  on  the  right.  A  fairly  heavy 
downward  pressure  is  brought  to  bear  on  the  trimmer,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  wheel  is  caused  to  ruu  along  the  edge  of  the 
mask.  The  cut  should  be  clean,  and  the  join  perfect,  if  proper 
care  be  taken.  It  is  desirable  to  practise  on  ordinary  writing  paper 
before  it  is  taken  into  use  for  prints.  Square  masks  with  very 
slightly  rounded  corners  can  be  used  ;  the  smaller  the  wheel,  the 
less  curved  the  corners  need  be.  It  will  be  seen  that  there  is  a 
limit  to  smallness  of  the  wheel  used,  since,  if  too  small,  the  stirrup 
on  which  it  is  pivoted  would  rest  upon  the  mask.  The  larger 
the  wheel  the  easier  is  the  cutting. 

With  larger  sizes  than  the  carte  or  the  cabinet,  mounting  may 


108  DRYING    THE    PRINTS. 

often  have  to  be  delayed,  since  it  is  easier  to  keep  a  stock  of 
unmounted  prints  (say  landscapes)  unmounted  than  it  is  when 
they  are  mounted.  In  this  case  the  prints  should  be  put  away 
as  flat  as  possible.  The  plan  of  drying  we  have  indicated  takes 
out  the  "  curl,"  but  even  then  they  will  not  be  flat  enough  to  be 
handily  put  away.  We  therefore  recommend  the  practice  of 
stroking  the  prints.  A  flat  piece  of  hard  wood,  about  1  foot 
long  and  1^-  inch  broad,  and  the  thickness  of  a  marquoise 
scale,  has  its  edges  carefully  rounded  off.  The  print  is  seized 
by  one  corner  in  one  hand  and  unrolled ;  the  face  of  the  print  is 
brought  in  contact  with  a  piece  of  plate  glass.  The  "  stroker," 
held  by  the  other  hand,  is  brought  with  its  rounded  edge  on  to 
the  back  of  the  print  near  the  corner  held  by  the  first  hand. 
Considerable  pressure  is  brought  upon  the  stroker,  and  the  print 
is  drawn  through  between  it  and  the  plate.  The  print  is  then 
seized  by  another  corner  and  similarly  treated.  By  this  means 
a  gloss  is  put  upon  the  print,  and  the  creases  and  cockles  are 
obliterated.  The  print  is  now  ready  for  trimming. 

It  is  well  to  have  a  square  of  glass  with  true  edges  cut  to  the 
size  of  the  pictures.  The  prints  should  be  trimmed  upon  a 
sheet  of  plate  glass,  a  sharp  penknife  being  used  to  cut  them. 
A  rough  test  for  ascertaining  if  the  opposite  sides  are  equal  is  to 
bring  them  together,  and  see  if  both  corners  coincide. 

It  may  sometimes  be  found  useful  to  cut  out  a  print  into  an 
oval.  The  following  method  for  tracing  any  ellipse  may  be 
employed  : — On  a  thickish  piece  of  clean  paper  draw  a  line  A  B, 
making  it  the  extreme  width  of  the  oval  required.  Bisect  it  at 
0,  and  draw  D  0  C  at  right  angles  to  A  B.  Make  0  C  equal 
to  half  the  smallest  diameter  of  the  ellipse.  With  the  centre  C 
and  the  distance  0  B,  draw  an  arc  of  a  circle,  cutting  A  B  in 
E  and  F.  Place  the  paper  on  a  flat  board,  and  at  E  and  F  fix 
two  drawing-pins.  Take  a  piece  of  thread  and  knot  it  together 
in  such  a  manner  that  half  its  length  is  equal  to  A  F.  Place 
the  thread  round  the  two  pins  at  E  and  F,  and  stretch  it  out  to 


DKTING    THE   PttlNTS. 


109 


tightness  by  the  point  of  a  lead  pencil.     Move  the  pencil  guided 
by  the  cotton,  taking  care  to  keep  it  upright.     The  resulting 


Fig.  30. 

figure  will  be  an  ellipse.  Modifications  of  this  figure  may  be 
made  by  making  a  second  knot  beyond  the  first  knot,  and  placing 
the  point  of  the  pencil  in  the  loop  formed.  When  the  figure 
has  been  traced  in  pencil  on  paper,  it  should  be  carefully  cut  out 
with  a  sharp  penknife,  and  placed  on  the  print  which  is  to  be 
trimmed  into  an  oval.  When  so  placed,  a  faint  pencil  line  is 
run  round  on  the  print,  and  the  catting  out  proceeds  either  by 
scissors  or  penknife* 


CHAPTER  XXH. 

MOUNTING   PHOTOGRAPHS. 

THERE  are  many  photographers  who,  unfortunately,  are  quite 
indifferent  as  to  the  medium  they  use  in  mounting  the  trimmed 
photographs.  So  long  as  the  medium  will  cause  the  adherence 
of  the  back  of  the  print  to  the  cardboard  employed,  they  are 
perfectly  satisfied,  whether  it  he  paste  fresh  or  sour,  or  starch 
or  gelatine  in  a  similar  condition.  If  any  of  our  readers  have 
had  the  misfortune  to  have  their  rooms  papered  with  rancid 
paste,  they  will  have  noticed  that  the  unpleasant  smell  attending 
it  has  not  heen  removed  from  the  room  for  weeks,  and  that  there 
is  a  liability  of  the  return  of  the  disgusting  odour  when  the  air 
is  at  all  damp.  In  this  case  the  fact  that  decomposition  is  going 
on  is  detected  by  the  olfactory  nerves,  because  the  quantity  is 
considerable.  It  is  none  the  less  true,  however,  that  every  square 
inch  of  the  surface  of  the  wall  paper  is  undergoing  the  same 
ordeal,  and  that  if  it  contains  any  colour,  &c.,  which  would  be 
affected  by  decomposing  organic  matter,  there  would  be  but  small 
chance  of  the  paper  retaining  its  fresh  appearance.  "Were  a  silver 
print  mounted  with  the  same  paste,  we  need  scarcely  point  out 
that  danger  to  its  permanency  is  to  be  apprehended.  Paste,  we 
know,  is  as  a  rule  tabooed,  but  there  is  no  occasion  for  it  to  be 
BO  if  care  be  taken  that  it  is  absolutely  fresh  when  employed  in 
mounting.  In  looking  for  a  mounting  material,  we  should 


^       OP 


MOUNTING    PHOTOGRAPHS. 

endeavour  to  find  something  which  does  not  readily  take  up 
moisture.  Glue,  gelatine,  dextrine,  and  gum  are  all  inadmissible 
on  this  account ;  on  the  other  hand,  starch,  arrowroot,  cornflour, 
and  gum  tragacanth,  when  once  dry,  do  not  seem  to  attract 
moisture. 

Referring  to  glue,  Mr.  "W.  Brooks  says*  that  he  has  recently 
seen  many  photographs  which  have  been  mounted  with  that 
medium,  and  in  some  cases,  where  the  glue  has  been  put  on  too 
thickly,  it  swells  up  into  ridges,  showing  marks  of  the  brush 
with  which  it  is  applied,  and  each  ridge  after  a  time  turns 
brown.  The  same  writer  is  not  wholly  in  favour  of  starch,  but 
in  our  own  opinion  pure  white  starch  is  as  good  a  material  as 
can  be  met  with.  To  prepare  it  for  use  as  a  mountant,  a  largo 
teaspoonf  ul  of  starch  is  placed  in  the  bottom  of  a  cup,  with  j  ust 
sufficient  cold  water  to  cover  it.  This  is  allowed  to  remain  for 
a  couple  of  minutes,  after  which  the  cup  is  filled  with  boiling 
water,  and  well  stirred ;  the  starch  should  then  be  fairly  thick, 
but  not  so  thick  as  to  prevent  a  brush  taking  up  a  proper  supply 
for  a  good  sized  print.  We  will  suppose  that  we  are  going  to 
mount  a  day's  work  of  carte-de-visite  prints.  In  a  former  chapter 
we  have  said  that  it  is  desirable  that  the  prints  should  be  left 
damp.  If  they  are  dried,  they  should  be  slightly  moistened,  and 
placed  in  a  heap  one  above  the  other,  as  by  so  doing  the  moisture 
is  confined,  and  one  damping  of  all  the  prints  is  sufficient.  In 
our  own  practice  we  have,  as  is  natural,  all  the  prints  with  the 
faces  downwards.  A  stiff  bristle  brush  is  then  Dipped  into  the 
pot  containing  the  starch,  and  the  starch  brushed  over  the  back  of 
the  top  print.  This  one  is  then  carefully  raised  from  the  print 
beneath  it,  and,  supposing  it  to  have  been  properly  trimmed,  it  is 
laid  upon  the  card,  and  pressed  down  by  means  of  a  soft  cloth, 
and  placed  on  one  side  to  dry.  The  next  print  is  then  treated 
in  the  same  manner,  and  so  on.  By  this  plan  no  starch  gets  on 

*  See  Mr.  W.  Brooks'  article  in  Photographic  Almanac,  1881. 


112  MOUNTING    PHOTOGKAPHS. 

the  face  of  the  prints,  which  is  a  desideratum.  With  a  little 
practice,  just  sufficient  starch  will  be  brushed  on  each  carte,  and 
no  more.  Young  hands,  however,  are  sometimes  apt  to  give 
more  than  a  fair  shy  re  to  them  ;  in  this  case,  after  pressing  the 
print  down  with  the  soft  cloth,  it  may  be  useful  to  place  on  the 
print  a  piece  of  writing  paper,  and  press  all  superfluous  starch 
out  by  a  rounded  straight-edge,  or  an  ivory  or  wooden  paper 
knife.  The  card  in  this  case  should  be  placed  on  a  slab  of  thick 
glas?,  so  as  give  an  even  pressure.  The  starch,  which  will  exude 
beyond  the  edges  of  the  card,  should  be  carefully  wiped  off  with 
a  clean  cloth. 

This  is  of  course  a  method  to  be  adopted  only  in  the  case  of 
bungling  mounting,  but  it  is  useful  then,  and  may  save  a  carte. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  the  less  mounting  medium  used, 
the  greater  is  the  chance  of  a  silver  print  not  fading. 

To  mount  larger  prints,  the  back  should  be  slightly  damped, 
and  the  brush  with  the  starch  applied  with  cross  strokes,  so  that 
every  part  is  covered.  Particular  care  should  be  taken  that  the 
corners  and  edges  are  not  missed,  since  it  often  necessitates  re- 
mounting the  print,  which  is  to  be  avoided  as  far  as  possible, 
since  it  is  a  troublesome  matter.  The  rounded-edged  ruler, 
and  the  sheet  of  white  paper,  is  also  useful  here,  since  over  a 
large  surface  there  is  more  difficulty  in  getting  even  layers  of 
starch,  than  over  smaller  ones.  When  a  print  has  to  be 
mounted  with  a  margin,  the  places  where  the  top  corners  have  to 
come  should  be  marked  with  a  fine  pencil  point.  By  a  little 
dexterity,  the  top  edge  of  the  print,  the  back  of  which  has  been 
covered  with  starch  in  the  manner  described,  can  be  brought  into 
the  position  indicated  by  these  dots,  and  be  then  lowered  with- 
out puckers  or  folds.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  print 
should  just  cover  the  pencil  marks,  since  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  erase  blacklead  with  india-rubber,  if  any  starch  should  by 
accident  get  on  it. 

It  is  well  to  dry  these  prints  under  pressure,  since  the  card- 


MOUNTING   PHOTCGKAPHS.  113 

board  is  apt  to  cockle.  A  couple  of  boards  rather  longer  than 
the  prints  suffice  for  the  purpose.  The  mounted  prints  are  laid 
between  them,  a  sheet  of  clean  blotting-paper  separating  each, 
and  a  few  weights  placed  on  the  top  board.  For  prints  of 
moderate  size,  a  table-cloth  press  is  an  excellent  substitute. 

As  to  the  kind  of  mounts  to  be  used,  opinions  vary.  To  our 
mind,  the  simpler  they  are,  the  better  they  look.  It  is  not 
rare  to  find  a  regular  advertisement  of  the  photographic  estab- 
lishment below  a  carte  or  cabinet  print.  To  say  the  least  of  it, 
this  is  bad  taste,  and  we  are  sure  it  Is  bad  art.  If  the  work  be 
good,  it  needs  no  recommendation  ;  and  if  it  be  bad,  the  less  of  an 
advertisement  that  appear*,  the  better  it  is  for  the  photographer. 
At  the  back  of  a  carte  or  cabinet  is  the  place  where  any  adver- 
tisement should  appear ;  but  even  here  it  may  be  overdone. 
When  we  find  the  back  of  the  carte  got  up  with  any  amount  of 
gold-lettering  flourishes,  and  no  blank  space  on  which  the  eye 
can  rest  without  encountering  some  one  especial  merit  of  the 
artist,  we  may  expect  to  find  on  the  front  of  the  card  the  same 
kind  of  tawdry  work.  It  is  seldom  advisable  to  have  the  mount 
of  a  white  colour,  though  for  cartes  or  cabinets,  in  which  the 
margin  will  be  hidden  in  the  album,  this  is  not  of  much 
consequence;  but  for  prints  in  which  the  margin  shows,  it  is 
generally  advisable  to  have  some  slight  tint  visible,  preferably 
of  a  cream  or  buff  colour.  There  are  some  classes  of  work  which 
will,  however,  bear  a  white  margin,  but  it  is  rarely  the  case  ; 
and  we  advise,  as  a  general  rule,  that  there  should  be  some  tone 
on  it,  to  prevent  its  attracting  the  eye  away  from  the  picture 
by  its  whiteness.  Black  mounts  are  much  in  vogue  at  the 
present  time,  and  they  are  effective  and  artistic;  but  chemical 
analysis  has  shown  them  not  to  be  safe,  since  they  are  enamelled 
with  substances  which  are  apt  to  induce  fading.  A  goo  1  and 
stable  black  mount  is  a  desideratum,  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  will 
be  found  before  long. 

Notwithstanding  our  preference  for  staich  as  a  mountant,  we 

I 


114  MOUNTING    PHOTOGHAPHS. 

give  a  method  of  preparing  glue  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
glue  used  should  be  light,  and  as  clean  as  possible.  It  should 
be  shredded  and  soaked  in  sufficient  clean  water  to  cover  it  for 
five  or  six  hours ;  any  dust  which  may  have  adhered  to  it  will 
find  its  way  into  the  water.  The  water  should  be  poured  off 
and  replaced  by  an  equal  quantity  of  fresh.  The  vessel  con- 
taining it  is  heated  over  a  small  gas  jet  or  spirit  lamp  until 
solution  takes  place.  The  liquid  is  then  thinned  down  with 
warm  water  till  it  is  of  proper  consistency,  a  point  which  is  soon 
learned  by  a  little  practice.  An  ordinary  small  glue  pot  will 
be  found  convenient. 

It  is  sometimes  useful  to  have  at  hand  a  mounting  solution 
which  will  not  cockle  the  mount,  and  the  late  Mr.  G.  Wharton 
Simpson  gave  a  formula  which  is  very  good  in  this  respect.  Fine 
cut  gelatine  or  shredded  glue  is  swollen  in  the  least  possible 
quantity  of  water,  and  this  is  boiled  with  alcohol,  with  much 
stirring.  If  HO  grains  of  Nelson's  No.  1  fine  cut  gelatine  are 
taken,  3  dr.  of  water  should  be  used  for  making  it,  and  to  it  2  oz. 
of  alcohol  be  added.  When  cool  this  sets  into  a  jelly,  and  can  be 
used  by  letting  the  bottle  into  which  it  has  been  transferred 
stand  in  hot  water.  Prints  can  be  mounted  on  foolscap  paper 
with  this  medium  without  any  serious  cockling  being  apparent. 

It  should  be  recollected  that  no  two  batches  of  paper  will 
mount  exactly  alike,  some  expanding  more  than  others.  It  is 
well  to  mount  a  trial  print  before  doing  many,  to  see  exactly 
how  the  paper  under  manipulation  behaves. 

Polling  the  Prints. — After  the  prints  have  been  under  the 
hands  of  the  retoucher,  they  should  be  rolled  in  a  rolling-press 
in  order  to  give  a  brightness  to  the  printed  image.  It  would  be 
invidious  to  point  out  any  particular  press  that  should  be  used. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  there  are  many  excellent  ones  in  the  market. 
The  directions  for  cleaning  and  using  the  press  are  supplied 
with  each  machine ;  we  therefore  refrain  from  saying  anything 
about  them. 


CHAPTEE  XXIII. 


DEFECTS    IN    PRINTS. 

THE  bath  solution  is  sometimes  repelled  by  the  paper,  and  this 
is  found  chiefly  in  highly  albumenized  paper,  and  is  generally 
caused  by  the  paper  being  too  dry.  Passing  the  sheet  of  paper 
over  the  steam  from  a  saucepan  will  generally  effect  a  cure. 

Small  white  spots,  with  a  black  central  pin-point,  are  often 
met  with  in  prints.  Dust  on  the  paper  during  sensitizing  will 
cause  them,  the  grit  forming  a  nucleus  for  a  minute  bubble.  All 
paper  should  be  thoroughly  dusted  before  being  floated  on  the 
sensitizing  bath. 

Grey,  star-like  spots  arise  from  small  particles  of  inorganic 
matter,  such  as  ferric  oxide,  lime,  &c.,  h  are  present  in  the 

paper.  They  become  more  apparent  by  decomposition  during 
the  printing  operations.  Theymiiy  generally  be 'discernible  by 
examining  the  paper  by  transmitted  light. 

Bronze  lines  (straight)  occur  through  a  stoppage  during 
floating  the  pnpcrin  the  sensitizing  solution.  Should  the  lines 
be  irregular,  forming  angles  and  curves,  it  is  probable  that  a 
scum  of  silver  oxide,  &c.,  may  be  detected  on  the  surface  of  the 
sensitizing  solution.  A  strip  of  blotting-paper  drawn  across  the 
bath  will  remove  the  cause  of  the  defect. 

Should  the  print  appear  marbled,  it  may  be  surmised  that  the 
sensitizing  solution  is  weak,  or  that  the  paper  has  not  been 
floated  sufficiently.  In  some  cases  it  may  arise  from  imperfect 


116  DEFECTS   IN   PRINTS. 

albumenizing ;  but  in  ordinary  commercial  samples  the  cause 
can  be  easily  traced. 

Red  marks  on  the  shadows  may  appear  during  toning,  and  are 
very  conspicuous  after  fixing.  They  generally  arise  from  hand- 
ling the  paper  with  hot,  moist  fingers  after  sensitizing ;  greasy 
matter  being  deposited  on  the  surface,  prevents  the  toning  bath 
acting  properly  on  such  parts. 

Weak  prints  are  generally  caused  by  weak  negatives.  Such 
can  be  partially  remedied  by  paying  attention  to  the  strength  of 
the  sensitizing  bath  (see  Appendix),  and  by  using  washed 
paper. 

Harsh  prints  are  due  to  harsh  negatives.  They  can  generally 
be  remedied  by  paying  attention  to  the  mode  of  printing,  as 
given  in  Chapter  IX.  If  the  negative  be  under-exposed  and 
wanting  in  detail,  there  is,  however,  no  cure  for  this  defect. 

A  red  tone  is  due  to  insufficient  toning ;  whilst  a  poor  and 
blue  tone  is  due  to  an  excess  of  toning. 

The  whites  may  appear  yellow  from  imperfect  washing, 
imperfect  toning,  imperfect  fixing,  or  from  the  use  of  old  sensi- 
tized paper. 

Should  prints  refuse  to  tone,  either  the  gold  has  been  ex- 
hausted, or  else  a  trace  of  sodium  hyposulphite  has  been  carried 
into  the  toning  bath  by  the  fingers  or  other  means.  A  trace  of 
hyposulphite  is  much  more  injurious  to  the  print  than  a  fair 
quantity  of  it.  Should  the  toning  bath  refuse  to  tone  after  the 
addition  of  gold,  it  may  be  presumed  that  it  is  contaminated  by 
a  trace  of  sodium  hyposulphite. 

A  dark  mottled  appearance  in  the  body  of  the  paper  indicates 
imperfect  fixing,  combined  with  the  action  of  light  on  the 
unaltered  chloride  during  fixing.  If  the  fixing  bath  be  acid,  the 
excess  of  acid  combines  with  the  sulphur,  and  forms  hydrosul- 
phuric  acid,  which  will  also  cause  the  defect. 

The  cause  of  mealiness  or  "measles"  in  the  print  has  been 
explained  in  page  3*2. 


CHAPTEE  XXIV. 


ENCAUSTIC  PASTE. 

THE  value  of  an  encaustic  paste  in  improving  the  effect  of  photo- 
graphic prints  has  become  very  generally  recognised  amongst 
photographers.  A  good  encaustic  confers  three  special  benefits 
on  the  print :  it  gives  depth,  richness,  and  transparency  to  the 
shadows ;  it  renders  apparent  delicate  detail  in  the  lights  which 
would  otherwise  remain  imperceptible  ;  and  it  aids  in  protecting 
the  surface,  and  so  tends  to  permanency.  One  of  the  writers  has 
in  his  possession  prints  that  were  treated  with  an  encaustic  paste 
thirteen  years  ago,  which  retain  all  their  original  freshness  and 
purity,  while  prints  done  at  the  same  time  from  the  same  nega- 
tives have  gone,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  ".off  colour." 

Various  formula  for  the  preparation  of  encaustic  pastes  have 
been  published,  and  many  of  them  very  excellent.  The  qualities 
required  are,  easiness  of  application,  and  the  capacity  of  giving 
richness  and  depth  without  too  much  gloss,  and  of  yielding  a 
hard,  firm,  permanent  surface.  For  a  proper  combination  of  all 
these  qualities,  nothing  has  ever  approached  the  paste  of  the  late 
Adam-Salomon,  of  which  the  following  is  the  formula: — 

Pure  white  wax         500  grains 

Gum  elemi      ,         ...         ...     10       „ 

Benzole  200       „ 

Essence  of  lavender ...  300      „ 

Oil  of  spike 15      „ 


118  ENCAUSTIC   PASTE. 

The  wax  is  cut  into  shreds,  and  melted  in  a  capsule  over  a 
water  bath.  Placing  it  in  a  jar,  and  the  latter  in  a  pan  of  hot 
water,  will  serve.  Powder  the  elemi,  and  dissolve  it  in  the  sol- 
vent, using  gentle  heat.  Some  samples  of  elemi  are  soft  and 
tough,  and  will  not  admit  of  powdering,  in  which  case  it  may  be 
roughly  divided  into  small  portions,  and  placed  in  a  bottle  with 
the  solvents.  Strain  through  muslin,  and  add  the  clear  solution 
to  the  melted  wax,  and  stir  well.  It  is  then  poured  into  a 
wide-mouthed  bottle,  and  allowed  to  cool. 

The  encaustic  paste  is  put  on  the  prints  in  patches,  and  then 
rubbed  with  a  light,  quick  motion,  with  a  piece  of  flannel,  until 
a  firm,  fine  surface  is  obtained. 

We  give  another  simple  formula  which  is  efficient,  though  we 
ourselves  prefer  the  above. 

White  wax  cut  into  shreds     1  ounce 

Turpentine        ...         ...         ...         ...     1     „ 

and  thinned  down,  if  necessary,  till  it  has  the  consistency  of 

"  cold  cream." 
Yet  another  is—- 
White wax       , 1  ounce 

Benzole ...        ...    2  ounces. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


ENAMELLING    PRINTS. 

THERE  are  several  modes  of  enamelling  prints,  but  there  is 
none  better  than  that  described  by  Mr.  W.  England,  which  we 
quote  in  his  words.  "  I  have  a  glass  having  a  good  polished 
surface  (patent  plate  is  not  necessary),  and  rub  over  it  some 
powdered  French  chalk  tied  up  in  a  muslin  bag.  Dust  off  the 
superfluous  chalk  with  a  camel's  hair  brush,  and  coat  with  enamel 
collodion.  I  find  it  an  improvement  to  add  to  the  collodion 
usually  sold  for  the  purpose  2  dr.  of  castor  oil  to  the  pint.  When 
the  collodion  is  well  set,  immerse  the  plate  in  a  dish  of  water. 
When  several  prints  are  required  to  be  enamelled,  a  sufficient 
number  of  plates  may  be  prepared  and  put  in  dishes  ;  this  will 
save  time.  Now  take  the  first  plate,  and  well  wash  under  a  tap 
till  all  greasiness  has  disappeared ;  place  it  on  a  levelling  stand, 
and  pour  on  as  much  water  as  the  plate  will  hold.  Then  lay 
the  print  on  the  top,  squeeze  out  all  the  water,  and  place  the 
plate  and  print  between  several  thicknesses  of  blotting-paper  to 
remove  all  superfluous  moisture.  The  plate,  with  the  print  in 
contact,  should  now  be  placed  in  a  warm  room  to  dry  spon- 
taneously, when  the  print  will  come  easily  from  the  glass.  Care 
should  be  taken  not  to  attempt  to  remove  the  print  till  quite  dry. 


120  ENAMELLING    TEINTS. 

If  the  pictures  required  to  be  enamelled  have  been  dried,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  rub  over  them  some  ox-gall  with  a  plug  of  soft 
rag ;  otherwise  the  water  will  run  in  globules  on  the  surface, 
and  make  blisters  when  laid  on  the  collodion. 

"  I  may  mention  that  prints  done  in  this  way  lose  their  very 
glossy  suiface  on  being  mounted,  but  retain  their  brilliancy, 
which  I  think  is  an  improvement,  as  I  dislike  the  polished  sur- 
face usually  given  to  the  print  when  gelatine  is  employed." 


CHAPTEEXXVI. 


CAMEO    PRINTS. 

AT  one  time  there  was  a  rage  amongst  photographers  to  produce 
cameos,  and,  for  this  purpose,  a  special  piece  of  apparatus  was 
required  to  produce  the  embossing.  The  figure  will  explain  it. 


Fig.  31. 


The   print,    after  mounting,    was    enamelled  by  coating  a 
plate  with  collodion — as  described   above — and  a  thin  film  of 


122  CAMEO  PEINTS. 

liquid  gelatine  applied.  In  some  cases  the  carte  itself  was 
gelatinized,  dried,  and  damped,  and  placed  in  contact  with  the 
collodion  film.  The  carte  was  placed  face  downwards  on  the 
gelatine,  and  placed  under  pressure  till  quite  dry.  It  was  then 
removed,  and  bore  on  its  surface  a  high  gloss  caused  by  the 
collodion.  It  was  then  ready  for  embossing,  which  was  effected 
by  placing  it  in  the  above  apparatus. 

Some  people  like  the  style ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  great 
variety  in  it  may  be  made  by  printing  sufficient  depth  of  border 
round  the  cameo ;  but,  for  our  own  part,  we  think  that,  in  an 
art  point  of  view,  they  are  decidedly  vulgar ;  and  besides  which, 
the  surface  of  the  cameo  is  readily  scratched,  since  it  is  raised. 
"We  only  give  a  brief  account  of  what  has  been  done  in  this  direc- 
tion, not  to  encourage  its  adoption,  but  rather  to  caution  the 
photographer. 


APPENDIX. 


REDTJCHOW  OP  OVEB-EXPOSED  PBITTTS. 

MR.  ENGLAND  writes  as  follows  to  the  Photographic  Journal,  and 
we  can  unhesitatingly  say  that  the  method  of  reducing  an  over- 
printed proof  is  excellent. 

"  A  simple  and  certain  method  of  reducing  over-printed  proofs 
has  been  one  of  the  wants  long  felt  by  all  photographers.  It  is 
well  known  that  in  every  photographic  establishment  even  the 
most  careful  printers  cannot  always  be  sure  of  getting  the  exact 
depth  of  tone  required,  and  proofs  occasionally  get  over-printed. 
Of  course  prevention  is  better  than  cure ;  but,  when  a  remedy  is 
necessary,  the  method  I  am  about  to  describe  answers  admirably. 
I  tried  a  great  many  experiments  before  I  succeeded  to  my  satis- 
faction. I  found  that  cyanide  of  potassium  totally  destroyed  the 
print,  even  when  used  moderately  strong.  By  using  a  weaker 
solution  it  was  well  under  control,  and  the  exact  depth  could  be 
readily  obtained  ;  but  during  the  washing  to  remove  the  cyanide 
the  action  of  the  latter  continued,  and  spoiled  every  proof.  I 
then  tried  several  methods  to  arrest  the  action  of  the  cyanide, 
but  without  success.  It  then  occurred  to  me  to  use  the  cyanide 
in  such  a  weak  state  that  but  little  should  be  held  in  the  paper, 
only  sufficient  to  reduce  the  print  to  the  required  depth  ;  for  this 
purpose  I  made  a  bath  of  only  four  drops  of  saturated  solution  of 
cyanide  to  a  pint  of  water.  The  prints  immersed  at  first  showed 


124  APPENDIX. 

no  signs  of  getting  lighter,  but  after  about  an  hour  the  most  per- 
feet  results  had  been  obtained  with  prints  considerably  over- 
printed. With  lighter  pictures  a  less  time  is  required,  roofs 
treated  in  this  way  lose  nothing  of  their  tone  during  the  after- 
washing,  which  should  be  thoroughly  done,  and,  when  dry,  re- 
tain all  the  brilliancy  of  an  ordinary  print." 

The  plan  of  using  cyanide  has,  we  know,  of  ten  been  proposed, 
but  with  no  success  until,  we  believe,  Mr.  W.  Brooks  gave  a 
formula  which  worked  successfully  with  him. 

Another  plan,  proposed  by  Mr.  L.  Warnerke,  for  effecting  the 
same  thing  is  the  use  of  ferric  sulphate.  A  weak  solution  is 
prepared,  and  the  print  immersed  in  it.  The  reduction  takes 
place  rapidly,  but  evenly. 

We  need  scarcely  say  that  it  is  better  not  to  have  to  use 
either  of  these  remedies,  by  avoiding  over-printing;  but  as 
mistakes  will  occur,  it  is  evident  that  the  above  will  be  of  use  at 
times. 

UTILIZATION  OF  SILVEB  RESIDUES. 

All  paper  or  solutions  in  which  there  is  silver  should  be  saved, 
as  it  has  been  proved  by  experience  that  from  .50  to  75  per  cent, 
of  the  whole  of  the  silver  used  can  be  recovered  by  rigid  ad- 
herence to  the  careful  storage  of  "  wastes." 

1.  All  prints  should  be  trimmed,  if  practicable,  before  toning 
and  fixing;  in  all  cases  these    clippings   should  be  collected. 
When  a  good  basketful  of  them  is  collected,  these,  together  with 
the   bits  of  blotting-paper  attached  to    the    bottom    end    o 
sensitized  paper  during  drying,  and  that  used  for  the  draining 
of  plates,   should  be  burnt  in  a  stove,  and  the  ashes  collected. 
These  ashes  will    naturally    occupy    but   a    small    space    in 
comparison  with  the  paper  itself.     Care  should  be  taken  that 
the  draught  from  the  fire  is  not  strong  enough  to  cany  up  the 
ashes. 

2.  All  washings  from  prints,  waters  used  in  the  preparation  of 


APPEJfDIX  125 

dry  plates,  all  baths,  developing  solutions  (after  use),  and  old 
toning  baths,  should  be  plaeed  in  a  tub,  and  common  salt  added. 
This  will  form  silrer  chloride. 

3.  The  old  hyposulphite  baths  used  in  printing  should  be 
placed  in  another  tub.      To  this  the  potassium   sulphide  of 
commerce  may  be  added.     Silver  sulphide  is  thus  formed. 

4.  To  No.  1  nitiic  acid  may  be  added,  and  the  ashes  boiled  in 
it  till  no  more  silver  is  extracted  by  it.     The  solution  of  silver 
nitrate  thus  produced  is  filtered  off  through  white  muslin,  and 
put  aside  for  further  treatment,  when  common  salt  is  added  to  it 
to  form  chloride,  and  added  to  No.  2. 

5.  The  ashes  may  still  contain  silver  chloride.     This  may  be 
dissolved  out  by  adding  a  solution  of  sodium  hyposulphite,  and 
adding  the  filtrate  No.  3. 

6.  No.    2,    after  thoroughly   drying,    may    be    reduced   to 
metallic  silver  in  a  reducing  crucible*  by  addition  of  two  parts 
of  sodium  carbonate  and  a   little  borax  to   one  of  the   silver 
chloride.     These  should  be  well  mixed  together,  and  placed  in 
the  covered  crucible  in  a  coke  fire,  and  gradually  heated.     If  the 
operator  be  in  possession  of  one  of  Fletcher's  gas  furnaces  he 
can  employ  it  economically,    and  with  far  less  trouble   than 
using  the  fire.     (It  is  supplied  with  an  arrangement  for  holding 
crucibles,  which  is  useful  for  the  purpose.)     After  a  time,  on 
lifting  off  the  cover,  it  will  be  found  that  the  silver  is  reduced 
to    a  metallic  state.      After   all    seething  has    finished,    the 
crucible  should  be  heated  to  a  while  heat  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour.      The  molten  silver  should  be  turned  out  into  an  iron 
pan  (previously  rubbed  over    with   plumbago  to  prevent  the 
molten  metal  spirting),  and  immersed  in  a  pail  of  water.    The 
washing  should  be   repeated  till  nothing  but  the  pure  silver 
remains. 

The  silver  hyposulphite,  having  been  reduced  to  the  sulphide 

•  The  crucible  should  be  of  Bfeourbridge  okj. 


126  APPENDIX. 

by  the  addition  of  the  potassium  sulphide,  is  placed  in  a  crucible, 
and  subjected  to  a  white  heat ;  the  sulphur  is  driven  off,  and  the 
silver  remains  behind. 

Another  method  of  reducing  silver  chloride  to  the  metallic  state 
is  by  placing  it  in  water  slightly  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid 
together  with  granulated  zinc.  The  zinc  is  attacked,  evolving 
hydrogen,  which,  in  its  turn,  reduces  the  silver  chloride  to  the 
metallic  state,  and  forming  hydrochloric  acid.  After  well  wash- 
ing, the  silver  may  be  dissolved  up  in  nitric  acid. 

Yet  another  method  is  to  take  sugar  of  milk  and  a  solution  of 
crude  potash,  when  the  silver  is  rapidly  reduced.  This  requires 
careful  washing,  and  it  is  well  to  heat  the  metal  to  a  dull  red 
heat  to  get  rid  of  any  adherent  and  insoluble  organic  matter 
which  may  have  been  formed,  before  dissolving  it  in  nitric  acid. 

To  PEDTT  FEOM  WEAK  AND  HAED  NEGATIVES. 
Should  a  negative  be  found  very  hard,  a  slight  modification  of 
the  sensitizing  solution  will  be  found  beneficial,   supposing  the 
ordinary  paper  is  to  be  used. 

Silver  nitrate    ...         ...         ...         ...  30  grains 

Water 1  ounce 

The  negative  should  in  this  case  be  printed  in  the  sun.  The 
more  intense  the  light,  the  less  contrast  there  will  be  in  the 
print,  as  the  stronger  light  more  rapidly  effects  a  change  in  the 
albuminate  than  if  subjected  to  weaker  diffused  light.  The 
reason  for  the  reduction  in  quantity  of  the  silver  nitrate  in  the 
solution  is  given  on  page  15. 

To  print  from  a  weak  negative,  the  sensitizing  solution  should 
be:— 

Silver  nitrate 80  grains 

Water 1  ounce 

The  printing  should  take  place  in  the  shade  ;  the  weaker  the 
negative,  the  more  diffused  the  light  should  be. 


APPENDIX.  127 

If  a  negative  be  dense,  but  all  the  gradations  of  light  and 
shade  be  perfect,  the  strong  bath,  and,  if,  possible,  a  strongly- 
salted  paper,  should  be  used.  The  printing  should  take  place  in 
sunlight. 

To  MAKE  GOLD  TKI-CHLORIDE  [AU  cij. 

Place  a  half-sovereign  (which  may  contain  silver  as  well  as 
copper)  in  a  convenient  vessel ;  pour  on  it  half  a  drachm  of  nitric 
acid,  and  mix  with  it  two-and-a-half  drachms  of  hydiochloric 
acid ;  digest  at  a  gentle  heat,  but  do  not  boil,  or  probably  the 
chlorine  will  be  driven  off.  At  the  expiration  of  a  few  hours  add 
a  similar  quantity  of  the  acids.  Probably  this  will  be  sufficient 
to  dissolve  all  the  gold.  If  not,  add  acid  the  third  time  ;  all 
will  have  been  dissolved  by  this  addition,  excepting,  perhaps,  a 
trace  of  silver,  which  will  have  been  deposited  by  the  excess  of 
hydrochloric  acid  as  silver  chloride.  If  a  precipitate  should 
have  been  formed,  filter  it  out,  and  wash  the  filter  paper  well 
with  distilled  water.  Take  a  filtered  solution  of  ferrous  sulphate 
(eight  parts  water  to  one  of  iron)  acidulated  with  a  few  drops 
of  hydrochloric  acid,  and  add  the  gold  solution  to  it ;  the  iron 
will  cause  the  gold  alone  to  deposit  as  metallic  gold,  leaving  the 
copper  in  solution.  By  adding  the  gold  solution  to  the  iron  the 
precipitate  is  not  so  fine  as  if  added  vice  versa.  Let  the  gold 
settle,  and  pourofi7  the  liquid;  add  water,  and  drain  again,  and 
so  on  till  no  acid  is  left,  testing  the  washings  by  litmus  paper. 
Take  the  metallic  gold  which  has  been  precipitated,  re-dissolve 
in  the  acids  as  before,  evaporate  to  dryness  on  a  water  bath  (that 
is,  at  a  heat  not  exceeding  212°  F.)  The  resulting  substance  is 
the  gold  tri-chloride.  To  be  kept  in  crystals  this  should  be  placed 
in  glass  tubes  hermetically  sealed.  For  non-commercial  pur- 
poses it  is  convenient  to  dissolve  it  in  water  (one  drachm  to  a 
grain  of  gold).  Ten  grains  of  gold  dissolved  yield  15 '4  grains 
of  the  salt.  Hence  if  ten  grains  have  been  dissolved,  1 5:4 
drachms  of  water  must  be  added  to  give  the  above  strength. 


1 28  APPENDIX, 

To  MAKE  SILVER  TITRATE. 

Silver  coins  are  mostly  alloyed  with  tin  or  copper.  In  both 
cases  the  coin  should  be  dissolved  in  nitric  acid  diluted  with 
twice  its  bulk  ot  water.  If  tin  be  present  there  will  be  an 
insoluble  residue  left  of  stannic  oxide.  The  solution  should 
be  evaporated  down  to  dryness,  re-dissolved  in  water,  filtered, 
and  again  evaporated  to  dryness.  It  will  then  be  fit  for  making 
up  a  bath.  If  copper  be  present,  the  solution  must  be  treated 
with  silver  oxide. 

The  silver  oxide  thus  formed  is  added,  little  by  little,  till  the 
blue  or  greenish  colour  has  entirely  disappeared.  This  will  pre- 
cipitate the  copper  oxide  from  the  copper  nitrate,  setting  free  the 
nitric  acid,  which,  in  its  turn,  will  combine  with  the  silver  oxide. 
The  copper  will  fall  ns  a  black  powder  mixed  with  any  excess  of 
silver  oxide  there  may  be.  Take  one  or  two  drops  of  the 
solution  in  a  measure,  and  add  a  drachm  of  water,  and  then 
add  ammonia  to  it  till  the  precipitate  first  formed  i»  re-dissolved. 
If  no  blue  colour  is  apparent,  the  substitution  of  the  silver  for 
the  copper  is  complete  ;  if  not,  more  silver  oxide  must  be  added 
till  the  desired  end  is  attained.  Distilled  water  must  next  be 
added  till  the  strength  of  the  bath  is  that  required.  This  can 
be  tested  by  the  argentometer. 

If  to  a  solution  of  silver  nitrate  a  solution  of  potash  be  added, 
a  precipitate  will  be  formed.  This  is  the  silver  oxide.  The 
potiish  should  be  added  till  no  further  precipitation  takes  place. 
The  oxide  should  be  allowed  to  settle,  the  supernatant  fluid 
be  decanted  off  (a  syphon  arrangement  is  very  convenient),  and 
fresh  distilled  water  added  to  it.  This,  in  its  turn,  after  the 
oxide  has  been  well  stirred,  should  be  decanted  off  The  opera- 
tion should  be  repeated  five  or  six  times,  to  ensure  all  nitrate  of 
potash  being  absent,  though  its  presence  does  not  matter  for  a 
printing  bath,  since  this  or  some  other  nitrate  is  formed  when 
the  paper  is  floated. 


—  •  o£OO<C       THE  END.       J^OG^Oo  — 


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Western  Photographers !  look  to  your  interests,  and  pur- 
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Photographers  in  the  East  contemplating  moving  West  will 
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Having  more  than  doubled  our  capital  and  room,  we  are 
now  able  to  compete  in  price  and  variety  of  goods  with.^wy  house 
West  of  N.  Y.  Send  a  trial  order  and  be  convinced. 


Prompt  and  careful  attention  to  all  orders, 


MILWAUKEE. 

GUSTAVUS  BODE, 

Northwestern  Photographic  Warehouse 

and  Chemical  Laboratory, 
11  Spring  St.,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 


A  FULL  LINE  OF 


PHOTOGRAPHIC  GOODS 

AND     ARTISTS'     MATERIALS, 

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I860  National  Photographic  Emporium,  1881 

205  W,  Baltimore  Street, 
BALTIMORE,  MX). 

RICHARD  WALZL,  Proprietor. 


* 


All  the  latest  novelties  in  connection  with  the  improved 
Dry-plate  Processes  furnished  at  the  shortest  notice. 

Any  Photographer  who  wants  Lenses,  Cameras,  Camera 
Stands,  Backgrounds,  Chemicals,  Glass,  Albumen  Paper  or  in 
fact  any  Photographic  Goods,  should  send  for  our  price-list  and 
be  convinced  that  it  is  to  their  interest  to  send  their  orders  to 
us  direct.  A  trial  order  will  convince  the  most  skeptical. 


i\  all  it 

Expert  Artists  employed  on  the  premises  enable  us  to  make 
this  branch  a  great  feature,  and  we  can  always  guarantee  satis- 
faction. 

© — 

Our  Practical   Photographic  Publications 

are  unequalled.     See  testimonials   in   Photographers  Friend. 
Price-list  sent  free  to  any  photographer. 

OUR  NEW  LENSES  ARE  THE  SENSATION  OF  THE 
DAY — and  the  prices  are  so  moderate  they  will  astonish  you. 
You  can  try  our  lenses  before  you  buy  them.  If  you  want 
anything  in  the  photographic  line,  address 

RICHARD   WALZL, 

BALTIMORE,    MD. 


PA.        PITTSBURGH,       PA. 


JOHN  I.SHAW, 

Success^  to  jf.  IV.  Morrison, 
MANUFACTURER   AND    DEALER   IN 

Photographic  Materials, 

Cameras,  etc,,  etc., 

Nos.  10  &  12  Sixth  Street, 

PITTSBURGH,  PA. 


Mouldings,     Albums, 

Oval,  Square  and  Arch  Top  Frames, 

Velvet  and  Combination  Frames. 


Photographic  Dry  Plates  and  Outfits  for  Amateurs 
and  Professionals. 


Everything  required  in  the  practice  of 
Photography  in  all  its  forms. 


JOHN  I.  SHAW,  PITTSBURGH,  PA 


w.  j.  HAZENSTAB'S 

NEW  PHOTOGRAPHIC  STOCK  HOUSE, 

406  Market  Street,  St,  Louis,  Mo. 

Is  now  opened  and  prepared  to  fill  all  orders  for 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  GOODS, 

At  Bed  liock  Prices  for  Cash. 

General  Outfits  for  Galleries  a  Specialty, 

»      Remfinhir  I  Carry  in.  Stock: 
Am.  Opt.  Go's  Camera  Boxes  and  Stand, 
Success  Camera  Boxes, 

Sam.  Peck  &  Co.'s  Camera  Boxes, 

Voigtlander  &  Son's  Portrait  Lenses, 
Darlot's  Pcrtiait  Lenses, 

Da  riot's  Quick- Working-  Portrait  Lenses, 

Darlot's  View  Lenses, 

Also  the  Celebrated  Peerless  Portrait  Lenses,  known  for 
tneir  Rapidity  and  Depth. 


And  a  Large  Assir  Intent  of 


ALSO  AGENT  FOR 
CRAMER   &  NORDEN'S  VRY  PLATES. 

EASTMAN'S  DRY  PLATES, 

CARBUTT'S  DRY  PLATES. 


Large  Assortment  of  Frames  and  Mats  at  very  low  prices. 

Small  Expense  in  carrying  on  17  business  enables  me  to  sell  for  less  money. 

1^"  /  Attend  to  AH  Orders  Personally.  .M^ 
Send  for  Trial  Order.  Price-lists  sent  on  Application. 

WM.  J.  HAZENSTAB, 
Photographers9    Supply    House, 

406    Market   Street,  St.   Louis,   Mo. 

A^.  B. — Remember  I  give  $  per  cent,  discount  for  cash  on  all  orders  of 
$10  oo  or  over. 


C;  Oct.  10, 1881. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  undersigned  has  aided  in  the  production  of 
many  of  the  most  artistic  photographic  pictures  produced  in  this  country 
during  the  last  ten  years,  pictures  which  have  received  gold  and  silver 
medals  at  Philadelphia,  London,  Paris,  Amsterdam  and  other  cities  of  the 
world,  he  feels  warranted  in  soliciting  the  patronage  of  photographers 
unacquainted  with  his  works. 


My  recently  introduced  Backgrounds  comprise  those  suitable 
for  the  stocking  of  a  New  Gallery,  as  well  as  several  suitable 
for  making  special  Exhibition  pictures. 

No.  -  Vienna  Tapestry.    No.  439.  New  Eastlake. 

No.  440.  The  Villa,  (Summer).    No.  435.  The  Winter  Road, 
No.  433.  The  Rustic  Wall.    No.  426.  The  Palisades. 


My  Three-Quarter  Length  Backgrounds  are,  viz  : 

Nos.  435,  437,  438. 

For  Special  Pictures  I  recommend  my  new  Portrait  Plaques 

—  an  entirely  new  article  in  Portraiture. 

Several  Designs. 

For  suspending  on  Backgrounds,  ornamenting 

Fireplaces  and  Sideboards,  my  Imitation  Dutch 

Plaques  are  desirable  and  very  popular. 


MY  LATE  ACCESSORIES  ARE: 
No.  396.  The  Gambler  Rock. 

No.  399.  Eastlake  Fireplace  and  Cabinet  Combined, 
(very  rich),  several  movable  parts. 
No.  397.  The  Couch  and  set  piece. 

No.  414.  Seavey's  Eastlake  Cottage  and  Balcony. 

No.  441.  The  Garden  Wall,  (3  parts). 
No.  -  The  New  Garden  Seat,  (3  changes). 


. 
f   LW.Seo.vey  V*  Worktop  -  i66 


Under  the  foregoing  heading,  in  the  "  Specialty  "  columns  of  the  several  Photograph- 
ic Journals  of  America,  will  appear  from  month  to  month  brief  announcements  of  my 
new  productions. 

LAFAYETTE  W.  SEAVEY, 

No,  8  Lafayette  Place,  NEW  YORK,  U.  Q.  A, 


PHOTOGRAPHERS' 

STJIPIPXjIIES- 


FRAMES, 


U\  "33.  ^^-x  \      LOWEST  PEICES, 


VELVET  GOODS. 


EUREKA, 

CRAMER  &  NORDEN 

AND 

EASTMAN'S  PLATES! 

AMERICAN  OPT.  CO. 

DRY  PLATE  CAMERAS, 

AND 

GENERAL   APPARATUS. 


WILSON'S 
PHOTOGRAPHICS. 

A   Partial   Photographic   Encyclopedia. 

By  E.  L.  WILSON,  Editor  "  Phila.  Photographer,"  "  Photo.  Mosaics,"  etc. 


A  STANDARD  BOOK  for  AT,L  Workers  In  Photography. 


CONTENTS. 

LESSON  A.  Treatment  of  the  Subject — B.  The  Needful  Apparatus — 
C.  The  Objective  or  Lens — D.  The  Dark- Room — E.  Preparation  of  the 
Glass — F.  Chemicals  and  Solutions — G.  The  Manipulations — H.  Ma- 
nipulatory Miseries— I.  Retouching  the  Negative — J.  The  Glass  Studio 
— K.  Accessories  and  Light — L.  Managing  the  Model — M.  Printing  on 
Albumen  Paper — N.  Printing  on  Plain  Paper — O.  General  Remarks  on 
Printing — P.  Printing  on  Various  Surfaces— Q.  Printing  Perplexities — 
R.  Art  in  Printing — S.  Mounting  and  Finishing — T.  Photography  Out- 
side— U.  Bromo-Gelatine  Emulsion  Work — V.  Vogel's  Collodion  Emul- 
sion— W.  Enlargements  and  Lantern  Slides — X.  Phototypes,  Platino- 
types,  and  Collodion  Transfers — Y.  Wastes  and  Their  Worth — Z. 
Metrical  Measuring — &.  Concluding  Confab — Index  (Six  Pages.) 

It  is  believed  that  this  is  the  most  valuable  work  ever  offered  to  the 
working  photographer. 

It  contains  352  pages ;  7  x  8f  inch  cover,  and  is  i^  inches  thick.  More 
than  loo  illustrations.  It  gives  full  details  of  all  practical 

Processes,  Old  and  New,  Public  and  Secret, 

Among  the  latter  are  the  "  Phototype,"  sometimes  called  the  "  Artotype"  process, 
with  examples;  many  of  the  "  Lightning"  processes;  the  "  Platinotype "  process;  the 
"  Collodion  Transfer"  or  "  Megatype"  process,  and  many  others. 

58  pages  are  devoted  to  Posing  and  Lighting  ;  37  pages  give  instructions  in  Emulsion 
"  Dry"  Work  ;  29  pages  show  how  to  Build  and  Use  Skylights;  108  pages  furnish  in- 
structions for  Manipulating  Negatives;  37  pages  are  applied  to  Printing  Koimula  and 
Dodges  ;  175  pages  gives  Notes  from  Authors  all  over  the  world. 

li  is  printed  on  fine  white  paper,  made  especially  for  it,  and  sold  at  the  low  price  of 

$4  OO  POST-PAID  $4  OO. 

For  the  beginner,  for  the  amateur,  for  the  photographic  worker,  it  is  believed  to  be 
most  complete.  No  live  photographer  should  fail  to  get  it  soon,  before  his  neighbor  is 
ahead. 

EDWARD  L  WILSON,  Publisher  and  Proprietor, 
Nos.  912  &  914  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 


DOUGLASS,  THOMPSON  &  CO 

Merchants  in  all  Requisites  pertaining  to  the 
67) 


'  Bootellers,  Stationers  &  Newsdealers, 
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Everything  used  in  Silver  Printing  selected  with 

greatest  care  and  guaranteed  of  the  highest 

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GAYTON  A.  DOUGLASS.  )  A  I    I 

HENRY  G.  THOMPSON,  f  ML. I. 


ATTENTION  PHOTOGRAPHERS! 
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—FOR— 


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Of  Every  Description, 
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notice. 


All  the  best  Brands  of  Albumen   Papers  and  Card 
Stock,  etc.,  etc.,  kept  constantly  on   hand. 


— Send  a  Trial  Order  and  be  Convinced. — 
— e— 

L.  H.  WILCOX, 

236  Fulton  Street, 

BROOKLYN,   N.  Y. 


The  BEST  is  the  CHEAPEST. 


Listen  not  to  the  cries  of  venders  of  worth- 
less imitations,  but  buy  the  genuine,  and  receive 
FULL  VALUE  for  your  money. 

Dallmeyer  Lenses, 

Success  Cameras, 

Climax  Cameras, 
E.  A.,  G.  C.  and  Platyscope  Lenses, 
Handy  Head-Rests. 


Genuine,  JV.  (P.  A.  &  S.  <£•  M.  Albumen  (Papers, 

With    Th«   WATER-MARK 

(Brilliant  Swiss  Albumen  (Papers, 

A.  (D.  Swiss  Albumen  (Papers, 

Hovey's,  Morgan's,  (peerless,  demons'  &  Hail 

Columbia  Albumen  (Papers. 


RAPID  PRINTING  PAPER, 

EASTMAN'S  DRY  PLATES, 

ANTHONY'S  DRY  PLATE  OUTFITS. 
Chemicals  of  Guaranteed  Purity  and  Strength. 

Eyery  Requisite  for  the  Studio  and  Field, 

SEND   FOR  ILLUSTRATED  CATALOGUE  AND    PRICE-LIST. 

me  lost  Extensive  Line  of  Velvet,  Plnsn  and  Ebony  Frames,  Easels,  Albms,  stereo- 
scopes, Grapnoscopes,  Portraits  of  Celebrities,  Stereo.  Yiews,  etc.,  on  this  Continent. 


E,  &  H,  T.  ANTHONY  &  CO,, 
591       BROADWAY,  NEW  YORK  CITY.      59 


Fully  2, 500  reams  of  Morgan's  Paper  has  been  made  and 
sold  within  the  last  year — equal  to  twenty  million  cabinet  size 
pictures.  We  expect  to  increase  its  sale  the  coming  year  to  al- 
most double  the  above,  judging  from  the  demand  of  the  last 
few  months.  The  pearl  tint  is  used  in  greater  quantities  than 
the  other  tints.  Send  your  orders  for  this  brand  of  paper  to 

J.  H^LWORTH, 
DEALER. IN  PHOTO.  SUPPLIES. 

626  Arch  Street,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 


EASTMAN'S 


DRY  PLATES. 


RELIABLE,  RAPID, 

INSTANTANEOUS.     >: 

THE    BEST! 

Used  by  all   Professionals  and  Amateurs  in  prefer- 
ence   to    any    others.     Complete    Instructions 
accompany  Each   Package. 


Eastman's  Gelatino-Bromide  Pellicle, 

For  those  who  wish  to  prepare  their  own  Plates. 

91Uwt*facfcurc&  o«ttj  6ij  frfW 

EASTMAN  DRY  PLATE  CO.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 


1.  &  H.  T.  Anthony  &  Co.,  591  Broatli ay,  Net  York, 

SEND  FOR  CIRCULAR.  TRADE  AGENTS, 


Andrew  J.  Smith, 

PHOTOGRAPHIC  STOCK  DEPOT. 

WE  KEEP  A   FULL  LINE   OF 


Which  we  are  Selling  as  Low  as  any  house   in   New  York  or   Boston. 


DEALER   IN 

N.  P.  A.  and  S.  &  M.  Dresden,  Hovey,  Berlin, 

Morgan's  and  Clemens'  Double  Albumenized  Paper, 

Nixon  &  Stokes'  Ferrotype  Holders, 
Collins,  Son  &  Go's  Card  Stock  of  every  description, 
Taber  &  Go's  Pebble  Mats,  etc. , 

Powers  &  Weigtman's  Silver  and  Chemicals, 
Anthony's  Ether,  Iodides,  Collodion  and  Varnishes, 

Atwood's  Alcohol,  Hyposulphite  of  Soda,  Sulphate  of 
Iron,  Acetic  Acid,  and  Glass  in  any  quantity. 


Dry  Plate  Outfits  for  Amateurs  $•  Photographers. 

Everything  pertaining  to  the  Trade. 

John  Dean        Co's  Plates. 


Lane  Assortment  of  Frames,  Convex  Glass,  Artists'  Materials,  etc,,  etc, 

N.  B. — No  charge  for  boxing.    Your  orders  are  solicited. 


No.  94.    Westminster  Street, 

PROVIDENCE,  R. 


HIGHEST 
MEDAL. 


BACKGROUNDS 

For  Everybody! 


et6,  etd. 

FLOOR  CLOTHS,  painted  in   Oil, 

Suitable  for   Interiors   and   Exteriors, 

ASHE'S  COMBINATION    STAIRCASE 


AND  THE  FOLLOWING  ACCESSORIES: 

ROCKS,  VINES,  BRIDGES,  VASES,  CABINETS,  AND  MANTEL-PIECES 
in  Papier  Mach£,  and  in  Profile,  the  lattir  interchangeable  and  with  practical  parts, 

DOORWAYS,  COTTAGE  WINDOWS,  STAIRWAYS, 
BALUSTRADES,  SLEIGHS,  BOATS,  VASES,  ETC.,  ETC.,  in  profile. 


No  extra  charge  to  parties  who  furnish  their  own  designs.     Samples  free. 

W.  F1.  .A.SHE, 

106  BLEECKEB   STREET,  NEW  TOBK   CITY. 


THE  MOUND  CITY  CENTRAL 


(H.  A.  HYATT,  Proprietor), 
NO.  411  NORTH  4TH  STREET, 

ST.  LOTJIS,  HUCO 

*    \\\    St. 


We  keep  on  hand  everything  new  and  of  interest  to  the  Fra- 
ternity, to  be  seen  and  examined  at  pleasure.  Our  stock  is 
always  complete  and  in  keeping  with  the  times.  It  embraces, 
with  the  LARGE  and  VARIED  assortment  of  GENERAL  PHOTO- 
GRAPHIC REQUISITES,  the  following  STANDARD  BRANDS  OF  ALBU- 
MEN PAPER,  which  you  can  always  depend  upon  getting  FRESH 

Hovey  's,  Peerless, 

Eagle  Brand  (Dresden), 

S.  fy  M.  Dresden, 
Morgan  's,        demons, 

Trapp  $  Munch, 

—  ALSO— 

Plain  and  Salted  Papers. 

We  carry  the  Standard  Brands  only.  There  is  no  Extra  we 
cannot  duplicate  with  some  REGULAR  BRAND.  Please  remem- 
ber this,  and  if  you  desire  fair  treatment,  and  low  prices,  just 
send  us  a  trial  order,  note  how  promptly  we  serve  you,  and  the 
quality  of  goods  you  receive,  and  we  will  be  assured  of  your  fu- 
ture favors.  Our  Motto  is  to  please,  and  we  guarantee  satisfac- 
tion. 

-OUTFITS  A   SPECIALTY.^EE^- 

Send  for  Illustrated  Calalogue. 

H,  A,  HYATT,  411  North  4th  Street, 

,  ]VIo. 


./»o.  G.  Hood.  ESTABLISHED  1865.  Win.  />.  H.  Wilson. 


0 

JV».  82<>  ARCH  ST., 

PHILADELPHIA, 

*2)ca^  i*t    aM  uatictic*  oj; 

PHOTO,  GOODS, 

tlttb    sofacit    tjom    ethers,    jxn     aiuj    article     tjou     ntcivj     necb, 
iiiclu^HttCf   tfte   fo-ffo-vui-ncj  : 

S.  &  M.,  N.  P.  A.,  &  C.  S.  IJmiMe  Alb.  Paper,  per  want,  35  ets. 

"  "  "     Shiffle  "  "  25    " 

Moryanis  Double  Alb.  Pnpir,  •'  34   " 

"  Single  "  "  3O   '• 

All  other  brands  supplied. 

Maf/fe's  Ifitrate  Silrer,        Mayer's  Chloride  <f  Gold, 
Jiest  Hypo,  of  Soda,  key  11»  Ibs.  $4  48, 

American  Optical  Co.  Printing  Frames, 

American  Optical  Co.  Negative  Bojref, 

American   Optical  Co.  Jtetotichiiig  Frame*, 

Negative  Hacks,  Pans,  Trays,  etc., 
WatjmoHth'R  Vignette  Payers,  $1  OO  per  pack, 

On  ion  Skin,  Paper,  per  dozen,  25  cts. 
Shtghi's  Vlg.  Attachment,  $1  5O.  Todd's  Via.  Attachment,  $1  5O, 

"  Hearn's  Artistic  Printing"  $3  oo.    "  Heain's  Practical  \  rinter"  $2  50. 
COMPLETE  PRICE-LISTS  FREE. 


SOLE  AGENTS  IN  UNITED  STATES 

FOR  THE  ROSS  AND  STEINHEIL  LENSES, 


1878  EAG-LE  STOCK  HOUSE.  1881 


No.  9  West  Fourth  Street,  N.  Y. 


Photo,  &Ferro,  Materials, 

^OUTFITS  A  SPECIALTY.*^ 

All  Goods  sold  for  Cash. 


MANUFACTURER  OF 
Eagle  Negative  and  Positive  Collodions, 

Eagle  Negative  and  Ferro.  Vat  nishes, 
Eagle  Retouching  Fluid, 

Eagle  Ground  Glass  Varnish. 

SOLE  AGENT  FOR 
Hammenstede^s  Collodions  and  Varnishes, 

Photo.  Chemicals  of  best  quality. 

THE  RETOUCHER'S  OUTFIT: 

Eagle  New  Metallic  Pencil,  hard,     Eagle  New  Metallic  Pencil,  soft, 
Medium  Siberian  Lead,  Artists'  Holder,  to  Jit  alt, 

The  most  complete  set  offered. 

'  FOE  THE  PRINTER'S  DEPARTMENT  is  offered 

Eagle  Photo  -Printing  Masks,     English  White  Tissue  Paper, 
Thick  Yellow  Paper,     Onion-  Skin  Paper, 

Heavy  Blotting  Paper,     Plain  Papers, 
Albumen  Papers  of  all  brands. 

Am  also  Agent  for  BRENGEL'S  SALTED  PAPER. 

Emulsion  and  Gelatine  Dry  Plate  Materials, 

Emulsion  and  Gelatine  Dry  Plates,  best  brands, 

Backgrounds,  Chairs,  Acce  sories,  etc. 
Bargains  in  Card  Stock.          Bargains  in  Apparatus,  Lenses,  etc. 


Four  Doors  West  of  B'way.  NEW  YORK. 


ESTABLISHED  IN  1S02. 

FACTORIES:     Waterbury,  Conn.,  New    Haven,  Conn.,  New   York   City. 


SCOVILL  MANUFACTUKIIG  Co., 

MANUFACTURERS  AND  DEALERS  IN 

:    ALL  ARTICLES  USED  IN  I 
PHOTOGRAPHY, 

V/arehouse,  No's  419  &  421  Broome  St., 

NEW   YORK. 

W.  Irving  Adams,  Agent. 

wfiMilll  iYi^lil 

111*1  i|£is^  I  i1    '* 

M      o   PH  P4  CO  O  O  O 


a  n 


Subscription  price,  $2  oo  per  annum. 
Among  its  contributors  are  the  leading  men  in  the  profession. 


[FOUNDED   IN    .842.] 

THE  NEW  ENGLAND 


Soujsfe. 


Every  Article  required  by  the  Amateur, 
Photographer,  Picture  and  Frame  Dealer, 
Frame  Maker  and  Crayon  Artist. 


Original  Importers  of  Imitation  Dallrneyer  Tubes. 
Sole  Agents  for  William's  Mitering  Machines. 

N.  E.  Agents  for  Bryant's  Accessories. 
Sole  Agents  for  the  celebrated  "Berlin  Paper." 

Sole  Agents  for  the  celebrated  "Gem  Paper." 
Sole  Agents  for  Burrill's  Portrait  Bust  Pedestal. 
Sole  Agent  for  Burrill's  Neg.  High  Light  Reducer. 
Bryant's  Quick  Collodion,  Celebrated  for  Years. 

Dry  Plate  Outfits  for  Amateurs. 

Euery  Variety  Dry  Plate  Apparatus  and  Materials. 
Anthony's  and  American  Optical  Go's 

Manufactures. 

Dallmeyert  Morrison  and  Voigtlander  Tubes 
on  Sale. 


C.  H.  CODMAN  &CCX 

[Formerly  GEO.  S.  BRYANT  &  Co.,] 

34  Bromfield  St,  BOSTON. 


-    ANTHONY'S 

DRY  PLATE  OUTFITS 

Most  Complete  Assortment  in  Market. 


00 


PH 

X 


PQ 


o 

PL-. 


GO 
C^ 

do 

^ 
>^ 
^ 
H 


o 


Lenses  supplied  with  these  are  superior  to  those  furnished  by 
Any  other  House.   '  Send  for  Descriptive  Circular. 

Anthony's  Patent  Perfect  Dry  Plate-holder 
BEST  IN  THE  WORD  ! 

E.  &  H,  T.  ANTHONY  &  CO.  591  B'way,  NEW  YORK. 


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